Infectious Measles Patient Passed Through Busy LA Hub

LOS ANGELES, CA — Another local case of measles was confirmed in Los Angeles County Tuesday, and the patient may have passed through busy Union Station while infectious, health officials said. It's the 16th LA County resident this year to contract the disease.

In an effort to stop the spread of the virus, county health officials are looking to identify others who may be at risk for measles and have been exposed. So far this year, several cases have been linked to LAX travelers, and students or staff at local universities including UCLA, and Cal State Northridge.

Authorities believe the latest patient travelled through Union Station on July 23 between 12:15 and 3:15 p.m. Anyone at the station during that time may be at risk of developing measles for up to 21 days after being exposed.

According to the County of Los Angeles Public Health Department People who were in the location above around the same time should:

Review their immunization and medical records to determine if they are protected against measles. People who have not had measles infection previously or received the measles immunization may not be immune and should talk with a health care provider about receiving the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) immunization.

Contact and notify their health care provider as soon as possible about a potential exposure if they are pregnant, an infant, have a weakened immune system and/or are unimmunized.

Monitor themselves for illness with fever and/or an unexplained rash from 7 days to 21 days after their exposure (the time period when symptoms may develop); if symptoms develop, stay at home and call a healthcare provider immediately.

"There is no known current risk related to measles that exists at this venue at this time," according to a health department statement about the Union Station case.

In addition to the 16 measles cases among county residents this year, there have been nine non-resident cases involving people who traveled through the county as well.

"The majority of cases to date were unimmunized or did not know whether they had ever been immunized," according to the health department, which reported that the latest case is not connected to outbreaks previously reported in 2019.

A case announced in July involved travel outside of the United States and was not linked to an outbreak reported earlier in the month, nor to the outbreak reported in April, officials said.

Anyone at risk is advised to review their immunization and medical records to determine if they are protected against measles, to monitor themselves for illness with fever and/or an unexplained rash from seven days to 21 days after their exposure (the time period when symptoms may develop) and -- if symptoms develop -- stay at home and call a health care provider immediately.

City News Service contributed to this report.