More Than 200 Quarantined For Measles Exposure Across LA

LOS ANGELES, CA — More than 200 students and faculty members at UCLA and California State University Los Angeles are under quarantine as county health officials grapple with a nationwide measles outbreak that made its way to Los Angeles through international travelers.

County health officials also announced Thursday announced a new case of measles in a person who flew in and out of LAX while infectious, as they seek to find more than 1,500 people potentially exposed by five others with confirmed cases of the contagious infection.

Cal State LA said about 200 workers at a campus library — which include some students — have been sent home "under quarantine orders and told to stay home and avoid contact with others as much as possible."

UCLA officials confirmed that 127 students and staffers were, at one point, being held in quarantine as officials worked to confirm their immunity after a person visited the campus while infected with the highly contagious virus. Officials screened hundreds of others establishing their immunity through records and blood tests. A student infected with measles went to classes at Franz Hall and Boelter Hall on April 2, 4 and 9, exposing classmates and staffers to the virus, according to UCLA. They continue to reach out to more than 1,500 people who may have been exposed to measles by five others with confirmed cases of the highly contagious infection.

"We expect that those notified will be quarantined for approximately 24-48 hours until their proof of immunity is established. A few may need to remain in quarantine for up to seven days. We have arranged for those who live on campus to be cared for at UCLA while they are quarantined," UCLA officials said in a statement.

Health officials are also asking students, faculty, staff or visitors to Cal State Los Angeles’ Library in the afternoon on April 11 to come forward and undergo testing.

Students who can’t establish their immunity status will be quarantined. The quarantine is a legal order, requiring a person to stay at a specified location until they are deemed unlikely to come down with the disease. For measles, that’s up to 21 days from last exposure. Department of Health officials believe the current Los Angeles outbreak dates back as far as April 2 with exposures recorded as late as April 18. That means the 21-day exposure threat expires May 9.

The latest case was confirmed in a person who arrived on April 18, was in the arrival area of Tom Bradley International Terminal that afternoon, and departed from Gate 37A, Terminal 3 later that night.

Persons who may have been on-site at the date and time for any of the below locations, may be at risk of developing measles for up to 21 days after being exposed.

"We're very worried about measles," Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

She said the county is taking a three-pronged approach to dealing with the infection in the face of outbreaks in New York, Northern California and around the world, which includes efforts to reach out to everyone exposed and, if they are not vaccinated against measles, asking them to stay home for 21 days to avoid spreading the infection.

About 90 percent of people not vaccinated against measles will contract the virus when exposed to it, county health officials said at a Thursday news conference. But the double-dose vaccine is highly effective and lasts a lifetime for those who have been immunized.

The virus was brought to Los Angeles through four international travelers who made their way through LAX. Two of those travelers contracted the virus in Vietnam and Thailand, according to health officials. In all, five Los Angeles county residents have contracted measles and another five infected persons traveled through the county. The majority of infections have occured in people who have not been immunized.

Anyone who develops measles symptoms should contact their doctor by phone before visiting their doctor's office.

Infected people can infect those around them before they have symptoms and know they are infected, and the measles virus can be transmitted from one person to another up to four days before the onset of a rash, health officials said.

Common symptoms associated with measles include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash which usually appears 10 to 21 days after exposure.

Even doctors aren't particularly familiar with the symptoms because the infection has not been widespread for many years.

Reaching out to health care providers and residents countywide are the other two parts of the county's approach to prevent further spread of measles.

Free vaccines for uninsured and under-insured individuals are on offer at the county's 14 public health clinics.

Ferrer said her department was coordinating with LAX officials to make sure that the word about free vaccines got out to 7,000 workers at LAX, identified as a point of potential exposure on April 1.

Health officials were also reaching out to UCLA and Cal State Los Angeles — two other points of possible exposure — to offer free vaccines to students without means.

The majority of the victims were unvaccinated.

"We will likely see additional measles cases in Los Angeles County, so it is important if you or someone you know has the symptoms of measles or has been exposed to measles to contact your health-care provider by phone right away before seeking treatment," Los Angeles County Health Officer Muntu Davis said. "The best way to protect yourself and to prevent the spread of measles is to get the measles immunization, with two doses of measles immunization being about 97-percent effective at preventing measles."

The following locations have been identified as points of potential measles exposure:

— LAX, Tom Bradley International Terminal, Gate 218 on April 1 from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

— UCLA's Franz Hall on April 2, 4,and 9 and Boelter Hall on April 2 and 9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m;

— Cal State Los Angeles' main library, on April 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.;

— El Pollo Loco restaurant, 1939 Verdugo Blvd., La Canada Flintridge, on April 11 from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and

— El Sauz Tacos, 4432 San Fernando Road, Glendale, on April 13 from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Supervisor Hilda Solis previewed a motion recommended support for state legislation to boost school immunization requirements by standardizing exemptions statewide.

"In 2000, measles was declared eliminated in North America. Since January 2019, however, there have been over 600 reported cases in the United States," she said. "Unvaccinated people, especially children and pregnant women, are at the highest risk for measles and complications from measles."

She plans to formally submit the motion next week.

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City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.