Measles continues to spread in California, now is in Illinois
A Chicago case of the virus has been confirmed, and 30 babies in California are in isolation after possible exposure. Fifty cases across California are being linked to Disneyland.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, January 27, 2015, 3:01 PM
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The measles outbreak continues to spread in California, as 30 babies in Alameda County have been placed in home isolation after a possible exposure last month linked to Disneyland.
Two new cases have also been reported in Santa Clara County, and two in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The infection has also been confirmed in Chicago, just one of 10 reported in Illinois over the last five years.
The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that there were 87 confirmed measles cases across seven states and Mexico. The California Health Department reported that of 73 total California cases, 50 are linked to Disneyland, where an outbreak began in mid-December.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent numbers — through Jan. 23 — account for 68 cases across 11 states.
The 30 babies in isolation are not infected, according to Alameda County Public Health Department spokeswoman Sherri Willis, but had contact with or a connection to the area's five measles patients. Four of those five cases are linked to Disneyland.
"It is our job to try to determine who has been exposed," Willis told the Los Angeles Times.
JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGESInfants are especially susceptible to measles because they can’t get vaccinated until they are a year old.
Babies are extra-susceptible to measles because they cannot be vaccinated against it until they are at least 12 months old.
Measles, though highly contagious, was eradicated from the U.S. in 2000 and is preventable via vaccination. It causes fever, cough, runny nose, pink eye and a body rash.
However, the disease is still prevalent in places like Western Europe, Pakistan, Vietnam and Philippines. It's possible that the Disneyland outbreak began when an infected traveler visited the park.
In 2014, there were 644 measles cases reported across 27 states — the most since measles was eliminated.
