Outbreak grows to 70 cases
Following a recent measles outbreak originating from “The Happiest Place on Earth,” five Disneyland employees tested positive for the disease.
“There is evidence of ongoing measles transmission in Orange County and at Disneyland Parks,” Nicole Stanfield, spokeswoman for the Orange County Health Care Agency, said in a statement.
Disneyland said it was informed of measles among its employees on Jan. 15, but The Washington Post reported that they have since returned to work.
Dr. Pamela Hymel, chief medical officer for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said all Disney park employees have been offered vaccinations and immunity tests since the company received word of the outbreak Jan. 7, according to Associated Press.
Those who have been in close proximity with the measles-stricken workers are put on paid leave until they can confirm immunity or provide proof of vaccination.
“Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 90 percent of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement.
A total of 70 people have been infected with the disease, including the five employees, as well as 62 of whom are in 11 counties throughout California. The outbreak has also spread to four other states – Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington state – and Mexico. Oregon is the most recent state affected, as state officials confirmed Tuesday, Jan. 20, that a man in his 40s contracted the measles following a visit to Disney parks.
Although the measles has been absent in the United States since 2000, it can still enter the country through an infected traveler.
“Travelers to areas where measles is endemic can bring measles back to the U.S., resulting in limited domestic transmission of measles,” the California Department of Public Health said in a statement. “Disney and other theme parks in California are international attractions and visitors come from many parts of the world, including those where measles is endemic.”
Officials have yet to find “patient zero” or what caused the outbreak, but they said it likely began with a traveler from a country where measles is widespread; or a Californian who traveled abroad to such a country, returned and visited Disneyland.
Because of the outbreak, state officials have warned children under the age of 12 and those not vaccinated to stay away from Disney parks.
Nationwide, the measles vaccination rate is at 90 percent. But there has been a rise in certain communities – including Orange County and other regions in California – in parents refusing vaccinations for children. Many who do so are wary of links between vaccination and autism.
“Getting everybody vaccinated is so important because trying to contain these infections can really be difficult,” Dr. Matt Zahn, medical director of Orange County Health Care Agency, told CBS News. “The vaccines work, the vaccines are safe, there are significant diseases out there that you can protect your children from.”
Before the vaccine for measles became available in 1963, the CDC said 400 to 500 died from the disease every year.
“The measles virus resides in the mucus in the nose and throat of infected people. When they sneeze or cough, droplets spray into the air and the droplets remain active and contagious on infected surfaces for up to 2 hours,” the CDC states.
Symptoms include fever followed by a runny nose, cough and rash.
Last year California had its worst measles outbreak in decades, with 644 confirmed cases. Many of those were linked to individuals who had not been vaccinated.
(With reports from Associated Press, CBS, CNN and The Washington Post)
