More than 200 students & staff at UCLA and CSULA are quarantined for Measles

According to a report, more than 200 faculty and staff are currently under quarantine to try to limit the spread of a current measles outbreak in Los Angeles.

Writing for the LA Times, Soumya Karlamangla reported:

Trying to stop a measles outbreak from spreading, health officials announced Thursday that more than 200 students and staff members at UCLA and Cal State L.A. who have been exposed to measles are being asked to stay home.

The five people diagnosed with measles so far in L.A. County this year include a UCLA student and a Cal State L.A. student. Concerned about the quick spread of disease on busy college campuses, health officials have ordered that students and staff exposed to measles who cannot show they have been vaccinated be quarantined until further notice.

Health officials in California also announced today that 38 people in California have been infected with measles so far in 2019. This is in addition to the large measles outbreaks in Washington state and New York.

Karlamangla continued:

County health workers reached out to more than 500 people who may have come into contact with the UCLA student in early April. As of Thursday afternoon, 79 of those students and faculty members had not provided medical records showing that they are immune to measles, according to a statement from the university.

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The news came as the CDC announced that 2019 has had the most measles cases ever since the disease was declared eradicated in 2000, with a total of 695 diagnosed cases of measles spanning across 22 states, as NPR reports:

The agency attributed the high number of cases primarily to a few large outbreaks — one in the state of Washington and two others in New York state. The New York outbreaks are among the largest and longest-lasting since 2000.

“The longer these outbreaks continue, the greater the chance measles will again get a sustained foothold in the United States,” the CDC said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement that the rise in measles cases is “avoidable.”

“Measles is not a harmless childhood illness, but a highly contagious, potentially life-threatening disease,” he said. “We have the ability to safely protect our children and our communities. Vaccines are a safe, highly effective public health solution that can prevent this disease. The measles vaccines are among the most extensively studied medical products we have, and their safety has been firmly established over many years in some of the largest vaccine studies ever undertaken.”

We will get new updated from the CDC next Monday, April 29th.

Vaccinate yourself and your kids. This is about more than protecting just you – it’s about protecting those who are too young or who have a compromised immune system. Vaccines work, and they are safe.

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