Measles Outbreak in Washington Linked to Micronesia

King & Pierce Counties, Washington (June 27, 2014) - Health officials are responding to nine cases of measles in the King & Pierce Counties of Washington State. Eight of the infected are of one extended family. Health officials stated that members of the family were unvaccinated because they were too young to be given the vaccine or they simply were not vaccinated.

The outbreak is linked to an earlier case in May. In that case the infected came from "the Pacific Isalnds". This current outbreak is linked directly to Micronesia and has Public Health in King County working with the Micronesian community to prevent further cases.

It is not specified where exactly in the "Pacific Isalnds" or "Micronesia" the affected are from, but it is important to note that there are currently cases of measles in Kosrae and Pohnpei of the FSM.

For additional readings:

  1. "Measles in Pohnpei".
  2. "Measles in FSM".