Measles Outbreak is Over; LA County Had Second Highest Caseload in State

The measles outbreak that state health officials traced to Disneyland and that affected 131 Californians was declared over today.

“We are pleased this outbreak is over, but caution that measles can be reintroduced in California at any time when an infected person brings it to the state,” according to state health officer Dr. Karen Smith, director of the California Department of Public Health. “The best defense for protection against the highly infectious measles is vaccination.”

There were five more unrelated measles cases reported during the outbreak, officials said.

The last case of measles was confirmed March 2, prompting officials to set today as the date when the outbreak was considered over since there were no new cases reported.

Since Feb. 27, only three new cases were reported in the state. The most recent case was out of Los Angeles County, bringing the total there to 28, with two in Long Beach and four in Pasadena, where they have their own health departments.

Orange County stands at 35 cases and Riverside County has had eight cases. San Bernardino County has a dozen and San Diego County has 14.

Of the California cases, 40 were traced back to visitors or workers at Disneyland between Dec. 17-20, according to the state. In 30 cases, measles was passed on from someone in the house or another close relation, officials said.

Eleven people contracted the disease in a community setting such as an emergency room where someone was seeking treatment for measles, according to the state.

State officials said this morning that of the patients the state has vaccination records for, 56 did not get shots and 25 had one or more doses of the MMR vaccine, according to the state.

Patients were six weeks to 70 years old, according to state officials.

There are 173 cases reported in 17 states this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Measles cases have been reported in Washington, D.C., Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington.

The outbreaks in Illinois, Washington state and Nevada are unrelated to Disneyland, according to the CDC.

From Dec. 28 to March 6, 142 people from seven states came down with measles from the Disneyland outbreak. The states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah and Washington state, according to the CDC.

There were 644 measles cases in 27 states, the most since measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, according to the CDC. In most cases, the victims were unvaccinated, according to the CDC.

Scientists say the measles virus in this outbreak matches one in the Philippines last year.

--City News Service; (Image via Shutterstock, chart via California Department of Public Health)

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