MARION COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV) – An alert has been issued to Marion County health care providers after a detection of measles was found in a sewage sample, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
OHA says the positive sample was collected on Oct. 6 from a wastewater treatment plant in Marion County and indicates that at least one person has measles in that area. It is possible that it may have come from a person traveling through the area.
The health care alert is precautionary, according to OHA, as a single positive test does not show whether there is ongoing risk to the community.
“One way to think about wastewater surveillance is like a ping on a radar — it could be low levels of the virus just passing through or something more serious, like an outbreak,” says Howard Chiou, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of communicable disease and immunizations at OHA. “It gives us a chance to prepare our health care partners with information they can use to help patients take steps to protect themselves, including reminding them to be up to date on their measles vaccines.”
OHA says health care providers should monitor for patients who may have measles, and the public should make sure they are up to date on measles vaccination.
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