By Katy Nguyen, Staff writer
Orange County officials warned last Wednesday that a woman in her 20s carrying measles, entered an AMC movie theatre in Fullerton on the opening night of the blockbuster Avengers: Endgame. She is a Placentia resident who has recently traveled abroad and contracted the disease there. It is unknown whether or not she had been vaccinated.
“Measles is a highly contagious and potentially severe disease that causes fever, rash, cough and red, watery eyes,” said Orange County interim health officer Dr. Nichole Quick,“The MMR vaccine is a simple, inexpensive and very effective measure to prevent the spread of this serious virus.”
Warnings of the outbreak have been issued throughout Orange County and the greater Los Angeles County.
Officials have issued caution to those near the locations the woman visited including, 5 Hutton Centre Drive, near South Coast Plaza.
Since then, two other cases of measles have been reported. One is an Orange County infant who is too young to be vaccinated, and another is a UCI male graduate student who is residing in Long Beach, officials announced Sunday.
The seven-month-old infant, who has no history of international travel, is being hospitalized at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). Exposed areas include the CHOC emergency department.
The UCI student was vaccinated and hadn’t recently traveled. He attended class Monday and Tuesday before reporting to the Student Health Center. He is reported to be staying at his Los Angeles county residence for the next few days. Exposed areas include the UCI campus and several areas in Long Beach and Fullerton.
“About 90% of people who have never been immunized against measles will become ill seven to 21 days after exposure, according to the Long Beach Department of Health,” stated the Los Angeles Times.
The Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is said to be 93% effective for one dose and 97% effective for two. There is a small chance, however, that 3% of those vaccinated will be affected, as for the case of the UCI student.
The disease has also been reported at other universities in the area including, University of California, Los Angeles, and California State University, Los Angeles.
These are not the only case of measles, but one of the many cases that have swept our nation and being the highest number of cases in last two decades. California health officials have stated that a growing 38 cases of measles have been reported statewide, so far this year.
Out of the 38, 14 were from those who traveled abroad to countries including India, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Ukraine.
In 2015, California issued Senate Bill 277 to abolish nonmedical exemptions for the vaccinations legally required for school enrollment, after a measles outbreak in Disneyland affecting 117 Californians, whom were mostly unvaccinated.
Recently this year, the UC Regents issued stricter vaccination requirements for the incoming freshman class, and the Cal State system issued a new vaccination policy which excludes personal beliefs and religious exemptions.
In April, Senate Bill 276 is passing legislature in Sacramento, among hundreds of protests by parents, a growing number of so called, “anti-vaxxers.” This bill is set to empower the California health department to carefully examine medical exemptions by physicians.
Health officials have recommended to those in the affected area to check with medical providers about the MMR immunization and contact the Health Care Agency’s Health Referral Line at 800-564-8448 for any concerns or questions.
