In a follow-up report to the first measles death recorded in the US since 2003, the Seattle Times, through death records, identified the victim as 28-year-old, Catherine J. Montantes of Port Angeles.
She died last April and was publicly announced in July. The measles infection wasn’t detected until after an autopsy. She suffered from a rare inflammatory myopathy, or muscle disease called Dermatomyositis. Corticosteroids are a typical treatment which leaves the patient susceptible to infections.
Related: Kansas senior’s battle with rare disease and how to help. What is Dermatomyositis?
According to the report, Health officials deduced that Montantes was among nearly three dozen people exposed to the measles virus at the Lower Elwha Health Clinic on Jan. 29, 2015. Among visitors to the clinic was a 52-year-old man who was later confirmed as the first case of measles in Washington’s Clallam County in 20 years.
The autopsy on Montantes confirmed that she had measles virus giant cell pneumonia.
Giant cell pneumonia is a deadly but fortunately rare complication of measles that tends to strike children who are immunodeficient from leukemia or AIDS, according to Medicine.net. The lung tissue shows multinucleated giant cells lining the alveoli (air sacs) of the lungs.
Related:
- How contagious is measles? Answer: Very
- Disneyland measles outbreak: Orange County case total at 8, Washington State issues warning
- Measles outbreak over: California health officials
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