There are no confirmed measles cases in Cascade County, but an exposure occurred in late May and local health officials are closely monitoring the situation.
As of June 11, there are 20 confirmed cases in Montana:
- 12 in Gallatin County
- 4 in Hill County
- 2 in Flathead County
- 2 in Yellowstone County
During a June 5 meeting with county commissioners Cascade County Health Officer Abigail Hill provided additional details about the local exposure.
The Montana Department of Health and Human Services notified the Cascade City-County Health Department that one of the cases in Hill County was a person who had come to Great Falls on May 27 for an appointment.
Measles exposure reported in Cascade County, no positive cases yet
When they returned to Hill County, the person started having symptoms on May 29, which is in the window of contagiousness while the person was in Great Falls, Hill said.
The exposure was May 27 from 1:30-5:30 p.m. at the Prospect Heights Medical Center, 401 15th Ave. S.
The building includes Central Montana Orthopedic Specialists, Sun River Health, Atlas Neurology, office of Dr. Susan Avery, Quest Diagnostics and Northwest Physicians.
Anyone present in the building or any businesses within the building during those hours is considered likely exposed to measles, according to CCHD.
CCHD recommending early measles vaccinations for infants traveling to Hill County
CCHD is investigating the exposure and working with the building where the exposure occurred, which was not publicly disclosed during the meeting, to develop a list of people who were in the building at that time to determine exposure.
Since the offices in the building share a ventilation system, Hill said currently, CCHD is considering the entire building as exposed if anyone was unvaccinated or not otherwise immune.
During the June 5 meeting, Hill told commissioners that they’d found out the building hadn’t initially listed one of the business tenants and they think there were about 70 people who were in the building during the exposure window.
Since it’s a medical building, Hill said vaccine status was easier to determine since medical staff were vaccinated and some patients were vaccinated.
She said CCHD didn’t think there were many people without immunity that were exposed.
“It’s looking minimal, but you never know,” Hill said.
First measles cases confirmed in Montana
There were some children exposed, including one who was too young to be vaccinated, but might be young enough to still have immunity from the mother, Hill said. Most children who were in the building had been vaccinated.
Several pregnant women were in the building during the exposure.
“We have pretty good vaccination rates within our community,” Hill said, but those who aren’t vaccinated or immune can spread measles quickly.
Since the local exposure was in a medical building, it was easier for CCHD to quickly identify and track the exposure, versus the situation in Hill County, where there was a three hour exposure in Walmart, which is harder to track and trace, Hill said.
CCHD is serving as the hub of measles information and to triage calls, help coordinate testing and direct resources.
Benefis Health System is the primary place for testing or care in the event of measles cases, she said.
CCHD recommending measles vaccines while local agencies preparing for potential cases
Benefis posted on June 11 asking that anyone believes they or a family member has been exposed to measles not to enter any Benefis location, but to instead call CCHD at 406-791-9242.
For those in need of treatment, experiencing symptoms such as a cough, runny nose, red eyes, fever, or rash and believe they may have been exposed to measles, they must call before arriving at Benefis to prevent spreading the virus:
- Benefis Northwest: 406-455-4777
- Benefis Walk-in Care: 406-731-8300
Clinic staff will provide further instructions on what to do.
“This is critical to protect other patients, especially those at high risk,” Benefis wrote.
Since that’s a close neighbor, CCHD worked with DPHHS to issue a recommendation for an early and accelerated vaccination schedule for anyone traveling to Hill County, including infants aged 6-12 months. Typically children are recommended to get the MMR vaccine at one year.
Hill said that some immunity carries from the mother for infants who don’t absorb the vaccine as well that young, but it does no harm to vaccinate between six months and a year.
Any infants who get an early dose would still need the standard dose at one year old.
She said that if there was an exposure at a daycare, there would likely be more cases and CCHD would work with the state to be eligible to administer the vaccine at six months to the broader community.
In Gallatin cases were very isolated so there was limited spread, Hill said, but it will depend on circumstances of exposures.
“If it gets going,” Commissioner Jim Larson said. “We’ve got a problem.”
