Health officials urge prevention as those exposed to measles patients sought

EUGENE, Ore. — As Oregon Health Authority and Linn County Public Health investigate two cases of measles — the state’s first of 2026 — both Lane and Linn county health officials are concerned over the possible spread of the highly contagious disease.

“One case of measles can affect up to 12 to 18 different people who are susceptible, meaning not vaccinated or don’t have a previous history of measles,” said Dr. Adam Brady, who works with Linn County Public Health and is also the Medical Director for Infectious Disease at Samaritan Health Services.

A team of nurses and health professionals are now undergoing an urgent search to find those affected by the two patients who developed measles symptoms on Jan. 5, Brady said.

The symptoms of the airborne virus include fever, cough, runny nose, red itchy eyes, and its trademark rash, starting from the face to the rest of the body.

Once found, those affected will be given preventative care, but without herd immunity right now through immunization, the most vulnerable are at risk, according to Brady.

“What we’ve seen is that one to two out of every thousand cases of measles has been fatal. And these are mostly in patients who might be too young to be vaccinated,” he said. “It’s a matter of time before — once we get a case of measles — then if not enough people are immune, it’s going to spread, and it’s gonna find those most vulnerable.”

Both Linn and Lane county health officials worry that the Centers for Disease Control’s decision last week to loosen vaccination requirements for students to attend school could cause parents to feel more skeptical of any vaccines, despite the MMR vaccine for measles still being on the universally required list from the CDC.

“I feel a little bit of hesitation when I’m asked to make a repair in my car or some sort of service that I don’t know for sure it needs, right? The same thing goes for our body. So we understand and predict that people, if the federal government, if the Centers for Disease Control comes out and casts doubt upon an established medical practice, there will be people who take that and question. That questioning is not bad,” Lane County Health & Human Services communications director Jason Davis said. “But in the meantime, while you’re doing that research, why don’t you do the things that you don’t have a problem with. Vaccination is one tool within that.”

Things like wearing a mask, washing hands a lot, and sneezing into a tissue and disposing of it in a trash can all help stop the spread, according to health experts.

OHA says two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97 percent effective at preventing measles.

In Lane County, 88 percent of school-aged children have received that vaccine, but 94-96 percent is required to be protected against an outbreak, according to Davis.

And despite the CDC’s changes, Lane County says it will continue to follow West Coast Health Alliance guidance for school vaccination requirements.

“I do believe that the West Coast Health Alliance has our best interest for Lane County in mind. And really that’s staying the course when it comes to childhood vaccinations and the requirements around vaccinations for school-aged children in Oregon,” Davis said.

Measles symptoms begin seven-to-21 days after exposure, and anyone who believes they’ve been in contact with one of the measles patients is asked to immediately contact their health care provider and let them know they may have been exposed.

People may have been exposed at Lebanon Community Hospital Emergency Department, between 8:53 p.m. on Jan. 6 and 7 a.m. on Jan. 7, or at Albany General Hospital Emergency Department, between 4:59 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. on Jan. 7, according to health officials.

Common complications of measles include ear infection, lung infection and diarrhea.

KVAL -{ }Health officials urge prevention as those exposed to measles patients sought

Swelling of the brain is a rare complication associated with the disease.

If you’re planning to seek medical care, you should first call a health care provider or urgent care by phone to create an entry plan to avoid exposing others in waiting rooms, officials said.