Woman with measles traveled through Sea-Tac Airport, Puget Sound

A person with measles traveled to Sea-Tac Airport and visited several public areas in King and Snohomish counties while contagious.

A person with measles traveled to Sea-Tac Airport and visited several public areas in King and Snohomish counties while contagious. Most people in Washington state are immune to measles, so public risk is low except for people who are not vaccinated. People who haven’t been vaccinated or aren’t sure if they’re immune should ask a health care professional for advice.

Public health officials say an out-of-state, unimmunized woman in her 20s became contagious with measles on Dec. 28, 2014 after visiting Disneyland in southern California in December. The visit was during a time when others who later got measles were at the park. Measles is highly contagious and can cause severe illness with rash, fever, cough, eye irritation, and can be fatal.

The contagious traveler flew from Orange County, Calif. to Sea-Tac on Dec. 29, 2014 and flew out of Sea-Tac airport on Jan. 3 to return home. She stayed with family in Snohomish County.

Anyone who was in one of the following locations during the indicated times may have been exposed to measles:

King County

Dec. 29-30, 2014 at Sea-Tac Airport

• 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 29 to 2:00 a.m. on Dec. 30, Main terminal baggage claim

• 12 a.m. to 2:45 a.m. on Dec. 30, 2014 Sea-Tac Rental Car Facility

• 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Dec. 30, 2014 at Dicks Drive-In, 115 Broadway Ave. E. in Seattle.

Sea-Tac Airport

• 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 3 Sea-Tac Rental Car Facility

Snohomish County

• 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2014 at Bethany at Pacific (Elevator, 3rd-5th floors), 916 Pacific Ave. in Everett

• 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Dec. 30, 2014 at Anthony’s Home Port in Edmonds, 456 Admiral Way in Edmonds

• 2:45 p.m. 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2015 at Swedish Edmonds Emergency Room, 21601 76th Ave. W. in Edmonds

After returning home to California, the traveler got medical attention and was diagnosed with measles on Jan. 8; she was infectious beginning on Dec. 28. Health authorities in Washington and at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were notified. The Center for Disease Control is following-up to notify those on the same flights as the contagious traveler.

Anyone who was in those locations at the listed times should find out if they have been vaccinated for measles or have had measles previously. People who are unvaccinated, aren’t sure if they’re immune, and develop an illness with fever or unexplained rash should consult a health care professional immediately. Public health officials urge them to call ahead to their clinic, doctor’s office, or emergency room before arriving so people in waiting rooms aren’t exposed.

Measles is highly contagious even before the rash starts, and is easily spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. If you’re not vaccinated, you can get measles just by walking into a room where someone with the disease has been in the past couple of hours.

Children should be vaccinated with two doses of measles, mumps, rubella vaccine, with the first dose between 12 and 15 months and the second at four-to-six years. Adults should have at least one measles vaccination; some people need two. The state Department of Health immunization program has online information about measles and measles vaccine.

On Friday, the state Public Health Laboratories confirmed a single measles case in Grays Harbor County in an unvaccinated woman in her teens. She also went to Disneyland when other confirmed cases were at the park. Health officials are working to contact people who may have been exposed at the health care facility she visited while contagious, Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma.

For more information, visit the Department of Health website at www.doh.wa.gov.