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Kitsap Public Health District unveils surveillance dashboard and warns of rising measles and pertussis activity
Summary
Kitsap Public Health District presenters described a new regional communicable-disease surveillance dashboard and summarized local activity: measles exposures tied to national outbreaks, a pertussis surge with school clusters, ongoing TB work, and routine rabies post‑exposure coordination.
Liz Davis, program manager for immunizations and general communicable diseases, and Wendy Inouye, communicable-disease epidemiologist, gave the Board of Health a detailed briefing on surveillance, response and a new public dashboard designed to share regional data.
Davis described the surveillance cycle — detection, investigation, risk assessment and response — and stressed that many responses require intensive, time-consuming work by case investigators and nurses. She said the district evaluates animal exposures for rabies and coordinates post-exposure prophylaxis; in 2024 the district evaluated 110 animal exposures and recommended rabies post-exposure prophylaxis for 40 residents.
Inouye summarized national and local measles trends and local readiness: as of May 2 the presenters cited national reporting of several hundred cases across multiple states and noted Washington residents had been identified among recent cases. Inouye emphasized immediate reporting requirements for certain suspect cases and described the district’s rapid-response procedures. She also presented kindergarten immunization data for Kitsap: 2-dose MMR coverage for kindergartners was about 92% in September 2023, below the 95% target; nonmedical exemptions rose to 2.8% of kindergartners, an increase from 2019.
The presenters also outlined a pertussis surge: Davis and Inouye said Kitsap reported 59 pertussis cases in 2025 through the date of the report, with several clusters tied to schools and household transmission. The district worked with affected schools and community partners on testing, notification and guidance; one local sports team elected not to travel to an out-of-state competition after receiving public-health recommendations.
On tuberculosis, the presenters said the district reviews arrivals referred by CDC electronic disease notification (EDN), follows up on abnormal chest x-rays, and supports long-duration treatment and direct-observed therapy. TB nurses provided more than 1,000 doses of TB medication for active patients in 2024, the presenters said.
Davis showed the district’s new Region 2 communicable-disease surveillance dashboard, which compiles CDC, state and local data for trends and monthly breakdowns; the dashboard currently displays data through the end of the last calendar year, with plans to make more recent reporting available as data cleaning permits. The dashboard lets users filter cases that are likely acquired out of state and download underlying data.
Board members asked about tracking disease among people experiencing homelessness; presenters said investigators collect location and encampment information during case work but that such data are not directly visible on the public dashboard. Presenters stressed that rapid detection, provider coordination and contact follow-up can prevent broader public exposures.
No policy votes were taken; the board received the briefing and thanked the district for the new dashboard and for sustained immunization and outbreak-response efforts.
