Measles case reported in Alaska from Seattle flight

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - An Alaskan resident was admitted to a Homer hospital with a measles infection after flying home from Seattle and subsequently driving from Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula, state health officials say.

The Alaska Department of Health issued a public health alert Thursday stating that the infected person was an unvaccinated adult who was traveling back home to Alaska from an overseas trip. It said the unnamed person was infectious on Alaska Airlines flight 228 from Seattle to Anchorage on Jan. 10.

The report also warned that they could have put at risk other nonimmune people at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport from approximately 10 p.m. to midnight that night.

They are now in isolation at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, the report stated, after visiting the South Peninsula Hospital Emergency Department in Homer on Monday.

Measles is an airborne, viral respiratory disease and is highly infectious, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Symptoms may include fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and a sore throat, as well as a blotchy rash that tends to start with red spots on the infected person’s face and spread to the rest of their body.

Alaska Epidemiologist Dr. Joe McLaughlin, a staff physician at the Alaska Department of Health, said measles is one of the most contagious viruses on the planet.

“People who are susceptible to that virus who are in the same room as somebody with measles might get infected with the virus,” McLaughlin said.

A vaccine for measles was developed in the U.S. in 1963 and is commonly known as the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

McLaughlin said people who were born after 1956 who have not had the MMR vaccine or have not been previously infected by measles are most at risk.

“Fortunately, if you’ve had the vaccine, you are considered to be immune,” McLaughlin said. ”The measles vaccine is one of the most effective vaccines we have."

McLaughlin said two doses of the MMR vaccine have shown to be 97% effective in preventing a measles infection.

If you suspect you may be infected, McLaughlin suggested getting the vaccine as soon as possible, while also monitoring for the aforementioned symptoms. He said symptoms tend to show up around 10 days after exposure, but could also show up as late as 21 days after exposure.

He also advised calling your healthcare provider, rather than going in person, to avoid further exposure to other people.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct information originally released by the health department regarding the time period the infected individual spent at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on Jan. 10.

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