Associated Press
California health officials on Thursday confirmed 13 new measles
cases connected to an outbreak at Disney theme parks last month,
bringing the total number of illnesses to 39.
The new cases of the airborne illness include five in Los
Angeles County and one in San Diego County.
The San Diego County cases include at least five people who
showed up with fevers and rashes Wednesday at the Sharp-Rees-Steely
Urgent Care Clinic in the suburb of La Mesa.
The clinic was shut down for several hours and dozens of other
patients at the clinic were questioned about their medical
histories, officials said.
Craig Sturak with the San Diego County Health and Human Services
Agency said Thursday that the public may have been exposed at that
clinic and eight other places including drugstores, grocery stores
and gyms.
Officials said 35 of the confirmed cases are in California, two
are in Utah and one apiece in Colorado and Washington.
Many weren't vaccinated against the disease.
Of the 10 total cases in San Diego, only one patient had been
vaccinated, Mr. Sturak said. Exact figures weren't immediately
available for other areas.
Most of the patients visited Disneyland or Disney California
Adventure between Dec. 15 and Dec. 20, but some contracted the
illness from others who visited.
Disney officials have said they are working with public health
authorities to provide any necessary assistance.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that lives in an infected
person's nose and throat mucus and spreads through coughing and
sneezing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes,
and a red rash that usually first appears on the face and spreads
to the rest of the body.
Health experts say the best prevention against measles is
vaccination. While officials declared measles eliminated in the
U.S. in 2000 because of a lack of continuous transmission, the
illness is still brought into the country by foreign visitors or
unvaccinated Americans.
Copyright 2015 Associated Press
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