California
warns against intentional measles exposures
Send a link to a friend
[February 10, 2015]
By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California health
officials on Monday warned parents against intentionally exposing their
children to measles, which could worsen an outbreak in the state.
|
In response to media inquiries about so-called measles parties, the
California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said it did not have
information on the parties or their frequency.
But it added that the disease, of which 107 cases have been
confirmed since an outbreak began late last year, was serious.
"CDPH strongly recommends against the intentional exposure of
children to measles as it unnecessarily places the exposed children
at potentially grave risk and could contribute to further spread,"
said department spokeswoman Anita Gore.
In 2011, federal authorities issued stern warnings following media
reports that vaccine-wary parents were trading chicken pox-laced
lollipops by mail, in misguided efforts to build children's immunity
through exposure to the virus.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Feb/10/images/ads/current/pest_control_bch_092414.png)
More than a third of California's cases have been linked to an
outbreak health officials believe began in the Disneyland theme park
in Anaheim in December. Gore said 30 percent of people infected in
the current outbreak have been hospitalized.
More than 36 additional cases of the highly infectious disease have
been reported in 19 other states and in Mexico, including three new
cases diagnosed in Cook County, Illinois. Seven of the eight cases
so far found in Cook County are associated with a daycare center in
the city of Palatine.
Georgia health officials reported that an infant arriving in Atlanta
from outside the United States was confirmed to have measles, the
state's first reported case of the disease since 2012. The Georgia
case is unrelated to the California outbreak.
The California Department of Public Health says 39 of the 107
confirmed cases have been linked to the Disneyland cluster.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/Symphony_122313.png)
The measles outbreak has renewed a debate over the so-called
anti-vaccination movement, in which fears about potential side
effects of vaccines, fueled by now-debunked research suggesting a
link to autism, have prompted a small minority of parents to refuse
inoculations for their children.
Some parents also opt not to have their children vaccinated for
religious or other reasons.
Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 after
decades of intensive childhood vaccine efforts. But last year, it
had its highest number of measles cases in 20 years.
Most people recover from measles within a few weeks, although it can
be fatal in some cases.
(Reporting by David Beasley in Georgia, Mary Wisniewski in Chicago,
Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles and Curtis Skinner in San Francisco;
Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Peter Cooney and Clarence
Fernandez)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Feb/10/images/ads/current/mks_lda_012015.png) |