Measles victim leaves house despite warning.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

Lane County Public Health officials diagnosed a young Eugene man on May 29 with measles, a highly contagious viral disease, and urged him to stay home until he got well.

That night, the man caught a hip-hop show at the WOW Hall and went drinking afterward at a downtown Eugene bar. The next night, he went out for sushi.

"He evidently did not hear us very clearly," Dr. Sarah Hendrickson, Lane County's public health officer, said Monday.

The man, in his early 20s, began showing symptoms of the measles on Friday night, which means he became infectious on May 28, public health officials said.

Lab results confirmed over the weekend that he had contracted measles.

The man had socialized with a 21-year-old Eugene man who brought the bug back from Japan on May 22 and who was the first confirmed case of measles in Lane County since 1990.

Hendrickson said both men came from families who do not believe in measles vaccinations, and "who don't think measles are a big deal."

That's their right under Oregon law, she said, which allows families to exempt themselves from school immunization law for religious or philosophical reasons.

"However, having opted out of that, they're opting into the need to respect the rest of their community, when they might have been exposed to a a disease to which they're not immune," Hendrickson said. "We're relying on people's common sense and community spirit."

Measles can cause serious illness and even death. About 6 percent of cases cause pneumonia, and about 8 percent get ear infections.

One in 500 cases is fatal. The virus can cause people with compromised immune systems to get very sick, Hendrickson said.

"We're just crossing our fingers that none of these susceptible people get sick and that this outbreak will peter out before someone gets seriously ill," she said.

But Hendrickson said she would be surprised if no other cases emerge.

The second man may have had contact with the public in three locations at specific times while he was infectious:

From 10 p.m. to the end of the Brother Ali show on May 29, at the WOW Hall.

From midnight to 2 a.m. May 30 at Jameson's bar, 115 W. Broadway, Eugene.

From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. May 30 at the Sushi Station, 199 E. Fifth Ave., Eugene.

In addition, public health officials have identified four locations and times where the public may have had contact with the first measles case:

On United Flight 6406 from San Francisco to Eugene on May 22.

At Shoji's Restaurant, 2465 Willamette St., Eugene, between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. May 22.

At Safeway, 145 E. 18th Ave., Eugene, in the floral department and the checkout area, between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. May 22.

At Sundance Natural Food Store, 748 E. 24th Ave., Eugene, between 6:35 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. on May 27.

In an effort to stop the spread of illness, public health officials are attempting to interview anyone who had direct contact or was in the same area with either of the infected persons.

Anyone who was at these locations at the same time as the infected persons should first check their immunization records for vaccination against measles, determine if they had measles in the past, and call Lane County Public Health at 682-4041.

People are considered immune to measles if they are at least 1 year old and have received two doses of the measles vaccine, usually part of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine; if they have already had measles, confirmed by a health professional; if they had a blood test confirming they are immune, or if they were born before 1957 and have had at least one dose of measles vaccine.

Public health officials ask that anyone who has symptoms of the measles - fever, rash, cough, runny nose - call their health provider first, and not show up at the doctor's office, urgent care or emergency department.