Skip to main content

You make this possible. Support our independent, nonprofit newsroom today.

Give Now

Traveler with measles hit most of Seattle's hot tourist spots

caption: A view from the rotating glass floor at the Space Needle is shown on Friday, August 3, 2018, in Seattle.
Enlarge Icon
A view from the rotating glass floor at the Space Needle is shown on Friday, August 3, 2018, in Seattle.
KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer

A man who traveled through Seattle has tested positive for measles. Now, public health officials want to alert people who may have been exposed at popular tourist spots he visited.

Public health officials say the man was in King County for a week beginning April 21.

He visited a dozen locations, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County:

  • Sea-Tac Airport
  • Marriott Courtyard hotel in Pioneer Square
  • Storyville Coffee on First Avenue
  • The Immediate Clinic on Capitol Hill
  • The Monorail on Westlake
  • The Space Needle
  • Slate Coffee Roasters on Second Avenue downtown
  • The Museum of Pop Culture
  • Market Fresh on Olive Way
  • The Pink Door
  • Kenmore Air Flight M5 340
  • The Tasting Room

The health agency has posted the full list where people may have been exposed, with dates and times.

Public Health – Seattle & King County's Dr. Jeff Duchin says the likelihood that you'll be exposed to measles at some point is a reality, so vaccinate now.

“If you’ve been exposed to measles it’s unlikely at this point that a vaccination will help you with that particular exposure. The past exposure. It will protect you from what I guarantee will be repeated additional future opportunities to acquire measles from other people who are coming into our community where measles outbreaks are occurring," Duchin said.

The measles virus can remain in the air for up to two hours after someone infectious leaves the area. So health officials want to alert anyone who may have come into contact with the man. Symptoms can show up two weeks later.

The traveler is from British Columbia. He also spent time in Japan and New York, where there are current measles outbreaks.

Public Health says the case is not connected to the outbreakose in Clark County.

The United States is in the midst of the largest measles outbreak in a quarter century.

Why you can trust KUOW