The number of confirmed cases of measles linked to visits to Disneyland or Disney California Adventure in has risen to 32. Five more cases are suspected in people who have fevers and rashes in La Mesa, a suburb of San Diego, but it is not certain if these are related to the Disney outbreak.
Twenty eight of the confirmed cases are in California, two in Utah, and one each in Colorado and Washington. The announcement of the new cases was made by the California health officials.
Most of these people visited the theme parks between December 15 and 20, 2014, but some cases have occurred in people who caught measles from someone else who visited.
Officials with the Disney theme parks say they are providing any necessary assistance to public health authorities.
Only two of the first 19 people who were confirmed as having measles were verified to be fully vaccinated against measles. Others were partially vaccinated and two or more were too young to be vaccinated.
California health officials have been urging anyone with symptoms of measles to call their doctor before seeking medical help so that special precautions can be taken to help reduce the risk of exposing others at health facilities to the disease.
The clinic in La Mesa was closed for 6 hours after the possible measles cases arrived to prevent further spread of the very contagious virus. The clinic was aired out and reopened after the patients with rashes and fever were released to go home.
Measles is an extremely contagious viral infection. It is transmitted though coughing or sneezing.
Symptoms usually appear with 7 to 14 days of exposure. Initial symptoms include a high fever, spots in the mouth, a runny nose, and red eyes. The signature rash that covers most of the body appears two to three days after the onset of illness. Usually the infection lasts 7 to 10 days unless it is complicated by a bacterial infection or another viral infection, such as pneumonia. Before antibiotics, measles pneumonia had a death rate of 30%.
