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Snohomish County concerned of measles spreading during World Cup
Over the course of a month, confirmed measles cases in Snohomish County, Washington have more than doubled. Now, health officials are expressing concerns about a greater spread ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
SEATTLE - Over the course of a month, confirmed measles cases in Snohomish County have more than doubled.
Health officials said those new cases involve people who aren't vaccinated and who've been connected to ongoing cases.
But there are growing concerns about greater spread ahead of the World Cup games in Seattle this summer.
Measles outbreak in Snohomish County, WA
By the numbers:
Health officials said hundreds of thousands of visitors could mean even more cases.
As of now, the United States Centers for Disease Control said there are more than 1,100 cases in the U.S. this year.
Data in Snohomish County shows there are now 14 confirmed cases here.
There are concerns the numbers could grow before and after the World Cup.
"I am very concerned that we could see outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases as a result of all the travelers coming in from the World Cup," Dr. James Lewis said.
Snohomish County Health Department.
Lewis is the Health Officer for the Snohomish County Health Department.
As he monitors the Snohomish County measles outbreak, he and other health officials are fully aware of the potential for more measles cases this summer.
The number of cases in Snohomish County has more than doubled from six to 14 since we talked with him last month. He told us most involve unvaccinated children.
"While there is a doubling in cases, I, you know, most of those cases were expected. So you had a couple of households that had a good amount of people who were unimmunized," Lewis said.
The CDC released new data on Friday showing 1,136 confirmed measles cases in the U.S. so far in 2026. There were no deaths reported.
CDC data showed last year, there were 2,281 confirmed measles cases in the U.S. with three deaths.
"I fully expect the United States to lose our elimination status this year or next year depending on what the findings show about how the cases were connected," Lewis said. "We're still waiting on a lot of that molecular DNA analysis of the different viruses to show us how much all of the different outbreaks of last year were connected or not."
Measles concerns at Seattle World Cup games
Local perspective:
This month, the Pan American Health Organization raised concerns "in the context of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and other mass gatherings."
The PAHO wants health departments on high alert and tracking any indication of outbreaks.
Last year, Canada lost its measles elimination status with the PAHO due to a large outbreak that started in 2024 and has persisted in under-vaccinated communities.
The organization wants to meet with the U.S. and Mexico in April to discuss elimination status for both countries amid their own outbreaks since last year.
This is all ahead of the World Cup games right here in Seattle, when hundreds of thousands of international visitors will come see the games.
"We do know that, you know, most of our cases have been imported by travelers," Lewis said.
Lewis said countries can have a relatively low number of measles cases and lose elimination status.
"That's what it means and it's not good. I think it's going to be a sad development considering it was completely avoidable by improving vaccine uptake and improving confidence in vaccines," he said.
What's next:
He said officials cannot declare the outbreak in Snohomish County to be over until six weeks after the last case, which is about five weeks from now.
"While I'm feeling cautiously optimistic, I think anyone who's not immunized should be aware," Lewis said.
Doctors said the big takeaway is that the new cases in the outbreaks are linked to people who are not currently vaccinated for measles, mumps, and rubella. They advise people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Dan Griffin.