State health department reports death of woman from measles, first in U.S. since 2003

A Clallam County woman died this spring of measles, an infection only discovered during the autopsy, Washington’s health department reported Thursday. The measles death is the first in the country since 2003, the health department said. The woman was likely exposed to the disease at a medical facility during an outbreak in Clallam County, a news release said. The woman had other health conditions and was on medications that contributed to a suppressed immune system. She didn’t have some of the common symptoms of measles, such as a rash, so the infection wasn’t discovered until after she died. The cause of death was pneumonia due to measles, the release said. People with compromised immune systems often cannot be vaccinated against measles and may be especially vulnerable to disease outbreaks. Measles is highly contagious even before the rash starts, and is easily spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. The measles diagnosis for the Clallam County woman brings the state’s case count to 11. Two measles cases were reported in Spokane County in April, the county’s first cases in 20 years.