People who recently visited two health care facilities in Salem may have been exposed to measles, the Oregon Health Authority announced on Thursday, March 19.

The possible exposure locations are:

Salem Health Hospital, emergency department waiting room, 890 Oak St. S.E., Salem, between 6:10 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Monday, March 16.

Kaiser Permanente Skyline Medical Office, upper level (second floor), 5125 Skyline Road S., Salem, between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Friday March 13.

Anyone who was at those locations during the time frames listed should immediately contact their health care provider to let them know of the exposure, officials said.

“The health care provider can determine whether you are immune to measles based on your vaccination record, age, or laboratory evidence of prior infection,” an OHA news release said.

Measles is a highly contagious viral illness that spreads through the air. People are contagious before a rash appears and for up to four days after, OHA said, and virus particles can linger in the air for two hours after someone who was infectious leaves the area.

Salem Hospital staff responded quickly to the patient who reported to the emergency department with suspected measles, said Salem Health spokeswoman Lisa Wood. Wood said the hospital’s protocol for measles was carried out in less than 5 minutes from the patient’s check-in at the front desk.

Hospital procedure requires the patient be put in a mask and placed in a room with the door closed. Patients suspected of measles do not wait in the waiting room.

Wood said the typical process is for a patient to arrive at the front desk, where a triage nurse determines whether they are sent to the triage room or the waiting area.

“In this case, the patient was masked and sent directly to a triage room,” Wood said. 

Staff responding to the patient wear N95 masks, per the procedure. Salem Health requires all new employees to show proof of immunity or be tested for measles, mumps and rubella. 

Oregon has reported nine people with measles so far this year as of March 14, according to an OHA dashboard.

Jonathan Modie, OHA spokesman, said because the agency’s data shows measles is circulating in wastewater in many Oregon counties, OHA is not reporting cases by individual county.

Information about measles from the Oregon Health Authority

Measles typically starts with a fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes. A rash usually follows, beginning on the face and spreading to the rest of the body. Symptoms begin seven to 21 days after exposure to a person with measles. Common complications of measles include ear infection, lung infection and diarrhea. Swelling of the brain is a rare but much more serious complication.

Measles can be dangerous, especially among children younger than 5, adults older than 20, pregnant people, and people with weakened immune systems. In developed countries in recent years, one to three of every 1,000 measles cases has been fatal.  The measles vaccine is highly effective at providing protection, as two doses of the MMR vaccine is 97% effective at preventing the virus. The risk of severe disease from measles for people who are up to date on their vaccines is very low.

Public health officials urge people experiencing symptoms of measles not to arrive unannounced at a medical office if they: 

Have a measles-like rash, or

Have been exposed to measles within the previous 21 days, AND have any other symptom of measles (such as fever, cough or red eyes).

Whenever possible, individuals planning to seek medical care should first call your health care provider or urgent care center by telephone to create an entry plan to avoid exposing others in waiting rooms.

This story was updated Friday afternoon to include new information from Salem Health spokeswoman Lisa Wood. 

Reporter Hailey Cook contributed reporting.

Contact Managing Editor Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade and is a past president of Oregon’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.