An unvaccinated toddler who traveled to England brought measles back home to San Diego County, health officials said.
Those at highest risk include babies too young to be vaccinated. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that babies get their first measles immunization at 12 months of age, followed by a booster between the ages of 4 and 6.
Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus and is spread easily by coughing. Complications of the illness include ear infection, diarrhea and pneumonia, and one out of 1,000 people with the disease will develop brain inflammation, which in very rare cases can cause death.
More information can be found at the San Diego County’s immunization branch website.
Cases of measles have long been on the rise in England for years, ever since the publication of a report suggesting a link between the measles vaccine and autism, which has since been discredited.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II
The 20-month-old boy is being quarantined at his home in Solana Beach, about 20 miles north of San Diego.
County public health officer Wilma Wooten warned that members of the public may have been exposed to the measles virus, and listed five locations in San Diego County where people were at risk for infection Aug. 4-6, including a CVS Pharmacy and stationery store in Solana Beach, a Costco in Carlsbad and parks in Del Mar and Rancho Bernardo.Those at highest risk include babies too young to be vaccinated. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that babies get their first measles immunization at 12 months of age, followed by a booster between the ages of 4 and 6.
Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus and is spread easily by coughing. Complications of the illness include ear infection, diarrhea and pneumonia, and one out of 1,000 people with the disease will develop brain inflammation, which in very rare cases can cause death.
More information can be found at the San Diego County’s immunization branch website.
Cases of measles have long been on the rise in England for years, ever since the publication of a report suggesting a link between the measles vaccine and autism, which has since been discredited.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II
