The measles outbreak that was ignited at Disneyland Resort in December, infecting 131 people in California, is over in this state, California public health officials declared Friday.
A new case has not been reported in California in 42 days, the duration of two 21-day incubation periods, they said. The outbreak ended one month earlier in Orange County, which, along with Los Angeles County, had the most cases.
“Having this measles outbreak behind us is a significant accomplishment,” said Gil Chavez, the state’s top epidemiologist. “Measles is not a trivial illness.”
One of the earliest patients was hospitalized for three weeks with a breathing tube and mechanical ventilator, Chavez said. The patient developed multiple organ injuries, required renal dialysis, and at some points, was unresponsive.
None of the 131 patients, who ranged in age from 6 months to 70 years old, died; 19 percent were hospitalized, he said.
“These types of measles complications should not occur in this day and age,” Chavez said. “We have a vaccine that is highly effective and widely available.”
Of the 81 people whose vaccination status was known, 56, or 70 percent, were not vaccinated. Twenty-five patients had received one or more dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, according to the Department of Public Health. Two doses are required.
The outbreak intensified the debate over mandatory vaccinations for schoolchildren, with some doctors refusing to treat unvaccinated children.
In California, parents are allowed to opt their children out of vaccine requirements for medical, religious and personal reasons. Students are also allowed to enroll in school conditionally if they are not fully up to date on their shots. About 90 percent of Orange County kindergartners have all of the required shots.
A bill that would tighten the vaccination requirement so medical waivers would only be available for children with health problems – forcing unvaccinated children to be homeschooled – stalled Thursday in the Senate Education Committee. The bill is scheduled to come back for a vote next week.
Public health officials said they worked swiftly and thoroughly to identify and find people who might have been exposed to the disease – and immunize, and in some cases, isolate, them.
One sick person might expose hundreds of others, and some of those who became infected wound up visiting schools, doctor’s offices, malls and airports. Lab tests were done for more than 1,000 people who might have contracted the highly contagious disease, according to the Department of Public Health.
One patient who was unknowingly infectious visited a hospital and exposed dozens of pregnant women and babies, including those in the neonatal intensive care unit. In Orange County, two dozen unvaccinated students were sent home from Huntington Beach High School for three weeks in January because an infected classmate had been on campus for three days.
In both cases, the virus did not infect additional people.
“We actually are very proud of the response of public health,” Chavez said. “We do believe, just looking at the data … we should have had many more cases, probably in the thousands.”
It is believed the outbreak started when an infected park-goer visited Disneyland Resort in December.
The measles virus in this episode is the same type that caused a major outbreak in the Philippines last year. It has also appeared in 14 other countries in the past six months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: jchandler@ocregister.com and @jennakchandler on Twitter
