FILE- This Feb. 6, 2015, file photo, shows a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine on a countertop at a pediatrics clinic in Greenbrae, Calif. Health officials say the number of confirmed cases of measles in western Washington has grown to 30, with nine more cases suspected. Clark County Public Health said Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, that 29 of the cases are in southwest Washington and one confirmed case is in King County, which is home to Seattle. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) – The number of confirmed measles cases near Portland grew to 30 on Friday – an outbreak boosted by lower-than-normal vaccination rates in what has been called an anti-vaccination U.S. “hot spot.”
Public health officials in southwest Washington, just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon, said people may have been exposed to the dangerous disease at more than three dozen locations , including Portland International Airport, a Portland Trail Blazers game, an Amazon Locker location and stores such as Costco and Ikea.
Twenty-six of the confirmed patients had not been vaccinated against measles, and the vaccination status of four others who were infected is unknown. One child has been hospitalized. Authorities say nine additional cases are suspected.
Most of the cases involved children younger than 10, the Clark County Public Health Department said in a statement. One adult is infected, and the rest are teenagers.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, declared a statewide public health emergency for his state on Friday. Authorities in neighboring Oregon and Idaho have issued warnings.