Measles Outbreak at Disney Park in California, What Caused It?

Health officials have reported what seems to be a case of measles epidemic, after 9 people, two from Utah and seven from California, were diagnosed with this illness.
Health officials said that all 9 patients have contracted the disease after going to the Disney theme park in California. Apart from the 9 people already diagnosed with measles, there are three more people who are suspected of carrying the disease.

The people who contracted measles said they visited the Disney California Adventure park and Disneyland between the 15th and the 20th of December, officials from California’s Department of Public Health reported.
Health officials believe the people contracted the airborne virus at one of the parks, and added that people who carry the measles virus can be infectious for at least nine days.

The seven people from California with confirmed cases of measles are from five different areas of the state and their ages range from 8 months to 21 years. Six of the people with measles had not been vaccinated against the illness.

Dr. Ron Chapman, the director of California’s Department of Public Health, is urging anyone who might have come in contact with a measles carrier to go to the doctor and get checked. He added that the best way to prevent getting measles or spreading it is to get vaccinated.

Health officials from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that measles is a very contagious disease and the virus that causes it can live inside the nose of the infected person. The measles virus spreads through sneezing and coughing because it lives in throat and nose mucus.
The symptoms of measles include fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and red rashes on the face and the rest of the body.

Health officials are investigating to find if any of the staff working at the Disney parks were infected with measles. They said that measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000 and the only way the virus was brought back into the country is by unvaccinated foreign visitors, or American citizens who visit overseas without being vaccinated against the disease.
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Christina Langfold

Remember that weird girl in school who never quite managed to fit in? Who was always silent and strange? That was me during my entire teenage life. A few years after finishing college (with a degree in arts) I decided that the best way to become more sociable, while also feeling safe, is to test my people skills online.