The case also marks the first confirmed measles case in the Idaho Panhandle since 1991, according to a news release Tuesday from the Panhandle Health District.
Kootenai County is home to the cities of Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum and Athol. In late July, measles was found in the city of Coeur d’Alene’s wastewater, an indicator that someone in the area was infected, even though no official cases were yet reported.
Wastewater testing can often detect the presence of infectious diseases, like measles, before cases are even diagnosed. But most communities in Idaho, apart from Coeur d’Alene and Boise, don’t test wastewater for measles.
The Panhandle Health District said it’s working to identify how the child got measles and is contacting any known locations the child visited to notify people who may have been exposed to the virus. Measles is a highly contagious disease that spreads easily through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can survive in the air for two hours after an infected person has left.
Measles has been surging nationwide. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the highest number of annual cases this year since the U.S. declared measles eliminated in 2000. Only two cases of measles were reported in Idaho between 2003 and 2023, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
The Panhandle Health District encouraged residents to verify their family’s vaccination records.
“The measles vaccine is highly effective, and for most people, two childhood doses of vaccine is all they will ever need to protect themselves against measles for their lifetime,” the news release said.
Children are recommended to get two doses, once when they turn 1 year old and once before they start kindergarten, at about age 4 or 5. Boosters aren’t needed. But if you can’t remember if you were previously vaccinated, it doesn’t hurt to get the two doses again just to be sure, according to Dr. Christine Hahn, the state epidemiologist at Health and Welfare.
In Idaho, nearly 80% of kindergartners in the 2023-24 school year were vaccinated, leaving about 20% unprotected, according to the annual National Immunization Survey.
Another unvaccinated child was diagnosed with measles in Bonneville County earlier this month, according to Eastern Idaho Public Health. That child was not an Idaho resident and had been traveling to the area from abroad.
“If you or a family member are experiencing measles symptoms, please call your primary care provider immediately,” Panhandle Health District said. “It is important to call your doctor before going in.”
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