Measles continue to prompt caution across parts of Northern California, with at least 10 confirmed cases reported by health officials in Butte, Placer and Tehama counties.
According to Butte County health officials, there are six confirmed measles cases in Butte County, three in Placer County and one in Tehama County. The three cases in Placer County — which were all people in the same family — prompted the Auburn Racquet and Fitness Club to warn patrons of possible exposure.
There was also at least one reported case in Calaveras County of an unvaccinated child diagnosed with the disease. Officials at the UC Davis Medical Center, where the child was diagnosed and treated, sent warnings to 200 people who might have been exposed to the child while sitting in the waiting room.
Calaveras Public Health Officer Dr. Dean Kelaita said cases of the preventable disease is worrisome as trends of parents not vaccinating there children continue to rise.
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“We have seen a decrease in the number of children protected with vaccinations in Calaveras” Kelaita said in a statement. “A person with measles can transmit the infection to others not protected by immunization.”
The number of measles cases in Northern California represent just a small portion of those reported across 15 states so far in 2019.
According to recent data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in the first three months of 2019, at least 387 cases of measles were confirmed in the country — the second highest count since the disease was eliminated in 2000.
At the same time in 2018, there were 372 confirmed cases of measles, more than three times more than the 120 cases in 2017. The highest number of recorded cases since the disease's elimination in the U.S. was 667 in 2014.
SYMPTOMS
Measles spreads very easily by air and nonimmune people can become infected simply by being in the same room with someone who has measles, even after the infectious person has left the room.
Those who develop an illness with fever (101 degrees or higher), cough, runny nose or red eyes, with or without rash, should call their healthcare provider.
The symptoms of measles generally appear about seven to 21 days after a person is infected.
One in every 20 people with measles develops pneumonia and, more rarely, serious, even life-threatening complications can occur. Those infected with measles can be infectious for up to four days prior to and after developing the measles rash.
Those experiencing symptoms should not go out in public or to a clinic, hospital or physician’s office before calling the facility first to help prevent the spread of disease. Anyone diagnosed with measles should stay home until they have been cleared by a doctor.
The best protection against measles is two doses of measles vaccine, MMR, the Center for Disease Control said. Measles vaccine has been available in the United States since 1963, and two doses have been recommended since 1989.
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You may have heard about this story today: An unvaccinated child in Calaveras County was diagnosed with measles, according to the county health department. But why are we starting to hear more and more about the measles virus? Let’s connect the dots…