California Concerned About the Rising Number of Measles Cases

According to the California Department of Health, the latest number of verified cases of measles from Los Angeles to Tehama county is now 16.

Chief of the CDPH Division of Communicable Disease Control, Dr. James Watt state the agency is concerned that the tally is rising. He also says in 2018 there were 21 cases of measles reported.

Watt said anybody who plans on traveling outside of the United States to vaccinate themselves against measles to protect themselves and those around them. He adds that measles is widespread around the globe and is a very contagious viral disease.

Presently, there have been 314 cases of measles which have been confirmed nationwide with outbreaks in California, Illinois, Texas, New York, and Washington according to the Centers for Disease Control’s latest numbers.

Watt says measles outbreaks are presently happening in the United States, and there are documented cases of measle transmission from people walking through airports, even in the United States.

Local and state officials urge people to get vaccinated. Infants under one-year-old are particularly at risk because they can not have a measles vaccine at that age. Another group at risk are those who can not have a measles vaccine due to compromised immune systems.

According to CDPH, as of March 29, 2019, Tehama, Calaveras, and Butte counties have six confirmed cases of measles. Three cases have been reported in Placer County; San Mateo and Santa Clara two cases, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Los Angeles have one verified case each.

California lawmakers introduced a bill earlier in the week which would permit CDPH to have authority to vet the medical exemptions for vaccines. Supporters of the bill say it will make it more difficult for doctors to make money from parents who do not want to vaccinate their children by signing a fake exemption.

Written by Barbara Sobel

Sources:

Capital Public Radio: California Health Officials ‘Very Concerned’ As Number Of Measles Cases Rise

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of The Prachati’s Flickr – Creative Commons License