PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and county public health officials are investigating the state’s first confirmed measles case of 2025.
The individual, an unvaccinated adult, recently returned to Oregon following international travel.
The case was confirmed on June 23. The individual began experiencing symptoms, including a sore throat, weakness, fatigue, headache, and fever, on June 16.
They were hospitalized in the Portland metro area with a rash and conjunctivitis on June 19 and discharged on June 21. Officials believe no patients were exposed during the hospitalization, and the individual is currently recovering.
Health officials suspect the disease was contracted during the individual’s recent international travel, which spanned four to five weeks. This case is not linked to any measles outbreaks in other U.S. states.
“We’re here to tell you that measles is now in Oregon, and if you’re not vaccinated, you are susceptible,” said Paul R. Cieslak, M.D., medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations at OHA’s Public Health Division.
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“You could get measles if you’re exposed to someone who is contagious, which can be from four days before their rash starts until four days after. After exposure, it can take up to three weeks before you show the characteristic measles rash. So, someone could not even know they have measles and be transmitting it for several days. That’s why it’s extremely important that all adults and children in their household be up to date on vaccinations,” Cieslak added.
Potential exposure locations include Flight UA1832/SN8869 (Brussels Air operated by United Airlines) on June 17, Portland International Airport arrivals and baggage claim on the same day, and a Safeway in Lake Oswego on June 22.
Nonmedical vaccine exemptions for kindergartners
In May, the OHA reported that Oregon had a record-high nonmedical vaccine exemption for kindergartners, but most families continued to vaccinate their kids.
A record 9.7% of kindergartners in the state have claimed nonmedical exemptions from school vaccination requirements for the 2024-2025 school year, marking the highest rate ever recorded in the state.
This increase continues an upward trend from 8.8% in 2024, when Oregon had the fourth-highest nonmedical exemption rate in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Despite the rise in exemptions, data from the Oregon Immunization Program at OHA’s Public Health Division indicates that 86.3% of kindergartners were fully vaccinated with all required immunizations for the current school year, a slight decrease from 86.4% last year.
Stacy de Assis Matthews, school immunization coordinator at the Oregon Immunization Program, emphasized the importance of high vaccination rates in protecting public health.
“An immunized community is our most effective defense against diseases such as measles,” Matthews said. “Robust vaccination coverage not only protects individual children but also safeguards those who cannot be vaccinated due to age, medical conditions, or other vulnerabilities, helping protect our communities in Oregon.”
For students across all grades, from kindergarten through 12th grade, 90.4% were fully vaccinated in 2025.
RELATED: Senators urge HHS to launch national measles vaccination campaign amid outbreak
Oregon senators pushed for vaccinations
In March, U.S. Senators of Oregon Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley called on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take immediate action to curb the spread of measles in the United States. The plea followed the first measles-related deaths in the country in a decade.
In a letter to Secretary Kennedy, the senators highlighted the urgency of the situation. Although Secretary Kennedy chaired the anti-vaccine nonprofit Children’s Health Defense from 2015 to 2023, he wrote an op-ed on March 2 this year for Fox News in which he calls MMR vaccines “crucial” to avoiding deadly disease.
“Measles outbreak is call to action for all of us,” the op-ed is titled. “Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” he wrote.
“It is imperative that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) act immediately and robustly to stop the spread of this preventable infection and save American lives,” the senators wrote.
The lawmakers emphasized the need to increase vaccination rates to protect vulnerable populations. “More must be done to increase vaccination rates against measles. Clear communication that vaccines work is imperative to build trust and increase uptake of vaccinations, ultimately saving lives,” they said.
The letter, led by Senator Ben Ray Luján and signed by several other senators, also stressed the importance of reinstating public health workers who were indiscriminately fired by the previous administration. “We urgently request that you reinstate all fired federal health workers and protect those remaining from termination to help stop the spread of measles and other infectious diseases,” the senators concluded.
Symptoms and immune amnesia
Measles spreads through the air after an infected person coughs or sneezes, with the virus lingering for up to two hours.
Symptoms typically start with a fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes, followed by a rash. Complications can include ear infections, lung infections, and, rarely, brain swelling.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases, and is known to cause a dangerous and unique phenomenon called “immune amnesia,” in which the infected patient’s immune system goes through a reset, effectively “forgetting” any immunity it had towards other diseases.
According to studies, in a room full of people exposed to measles, 90% who are unvaccinated will develop the disease. In addition, it can linger in the air for up to 2 hours.
Even in healthy people, measles can cause the following:
- 1 out of every 1,000 measles cases will develop acute encephalitis, which often results in permanent brain damage.
- 1 to 3 out of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles will die from respiratory and neurologic complications.
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a rare but fatal degenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized by:
- Behavioral and intellectual deterioration.
- Seizures that generally develop 7 to 10 years after measles infection.
Most Oregonians have been vaccinated, significantly reducing their risk. However, unvaccinated individuals, especially pregnant people, infants under 1 year old, and those with weakened immune systems, are at higher risk.
According to the CDC, there have been three confirmed deaths from measles this year across the U.S. as of June 20.
Public health officials advise those experiencing symptoms not to visit medical offices unannounced. Instead, they should call ahead to arrange a safe entry plan to prevent exposing others.
For more information on measles, visit the Oregon Health Authority’s website and blog.
