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Measles outbreak in Washington may be over

caption: FILE: A child with measles
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FILE: A child with measles

Update: On Monday Public Health officials in Clark County declared the local measles outbreak over.

There have been no new cases of measles in Clark County since Friday. Public Health may be ready to declare the outbreak over.

It’s been 42 days since the last identified case in Clark County.

That’s two incubation periods with no new exposures; that’s enough to satisfy Clark County Public Health that the outbreak is over.

The 73 cases in Clark County are part of the largest nationwide outbreak of measles since 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Oregon public health officials say they’re tracking 10 cases.

And in California hundreds of students, staff and faculty at two Los Angeles universities have been quarantined because they may have been exposed.

In Washington state Governor Jay Inslee is likely to sign new tougher rules for exemption from the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into law.

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