Measles case reported in Anchorage, health officials say

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A case of the measles virus was reported in Anchorage earlier this week, the Anchorage Health Department confirmed Thursday.

The unidentified person who tested positive arrived in Anchorage on Monday, the health department said, after traveling through Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday.

Health officials said others could have been exposed if they traveled through the Las Vegas airport between 6:30-7:30 a.m. on Monday, the Seattle airport between 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, or the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport between 4-8 p.m. Monday.

The individual who tested positive was reportedly unvaccinated — the health department stated that they did not have a history of immunization for the measles vaccine — and had traveled from an area of the country currently experiencing a “substantial measles outbreak.”

Health officials did say that they believe exposure was limited due to the person isolating after arriving in Alaska.

It’s at least the fourth measles case reported in Alaska this year, following a case in a Homer hospital in January, an Anchorage case in May, and a third unknown case reported by the state health department.

The measles virus was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but measles outbursts have been recorded in small pockets of the country, including a region of South Carolina where at least five new cases were confirmed this week.

Earlier this year, hundreds of new cases broke out in West Texas and New Mexico.

Vaccination rates of the MMR vaccine in kindergarten-aged children in Alaska have declined slightly in recent years, according to the state Department of Health.

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