59 Measles Cases Confirmed in State; At Least 28 Weren't Vaccinated

Since the end of December the number of confirmed measles cases in California has grown to 59 and most have been connected to an initial exposure in Disneyland in mid-December, public health officials said Wednesday.

The measles cases have been found in 11 local health jurisdictions, spanning from SoCal to NorCal, according to the state. The most amount of cases are in Orange County, which has a dozen.

The counties which have confirmed measles cases include:

• Alameda County
• Los Angeles County
• Orange County
• Riverside County
• San Bernardino County
• San Diego County
• San Mateo County
• Santa Clara County
• Ventura County
• Cities of Long Beach and Pasadena

The patients range in age between 7 months and 70 years. The exposure at Disneyland or Disney California Adventure theme parks in Anaheim between Dec. 15 and 20 has been connected to a total of 42 patients. Five of the patients work at Disneyland.

“If you have symptoms, and believe you may have been exposed, please contact your health care provider. Unless you have an emergency, it is best to contact your health care provider by phone to prevent spread in doctor’s offices.” said Dr. Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health. “The best way to prevent measles and its spread is to get vaccinated.”

Anyone who recently visited places where international travelers congregate, such as airports or theme parks, could have been exposed to measles, public health officials said.

The public health department has determined the vaccination status of 34 of the 59 measles cases and of those 34, 28 people who contracted measles were unvaccinated. One of the other six had one dose of the vaccine and five had two or more doses.

“Vaccination is the most important strategy to prevent measles,” the state reiterated.

Two or more doses of the measles vaccine are considered 99 percent effective in preventing the disease.

Symptoms of measles begin with fever, cough and runny nose and red eyes and within a few days a red rash appears, usually first on the face and spreading downward to the rest of the body.

The disease is highly infectious and spreads through the air.

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