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A quarantine order was issued Thursday for hundreds of students and staff at two Los Angeles universities who may have been exposed to measles and have not been vaccinated or can not verify they are immune.
In the United States, measles reached its highest level in 25 years, with nearly 700 cases this year, due to an upsurge largely attributable to the misinformation that pits parents against vaccination. About three-quarters of this year's diseases in the United States were contracted in New York State.
The University of California at Los Angeles said Wednesday there were 119 students and 8 faculty members in quarantine. Seventy-one students and 127 staff members are quarantined at California State University in Los Angeles after a possible exposure to measles in a campus library, school officials said.
"The Ministry of Public Health determined that there was no known current risk of measles in the library at the moment," Cal State said in a statement.
Quarantines vary
UCLA said some people could stay in quarantine for up to 48 hours before they prove their immunity. Some may need to stay in quarantine for seven days, officials said.
Such an order forces those exposed to stay at home and warn the authorities "if they develop measles symptoms and avoid contact with other people until the end of their forties." or until they present evidence of their immunity, "said the Los Angeles County Department. Public health said in a statement.
The orders come as a small measles outbreak is underway in Los Angeles County and concerns five confirmed cases related to overseas trips. The state recorded 38 cases of measles on Thursday, up from 11 at about the same time last year, said Dr. Karen Smith, director of the California Department of Public Health.
The state usually sees fewer than two dozen cases a year, she said.
This year, California cases affect 11 counties and affect patients aged 5 months to 55 years.
More than 76% of patients have not been vaccinated or have not received the two recommended doses of vaccine, Smith said. Fourteen of those infected had traveled abroad, including the Philippines, Thailand, India and Ukraine.
Vaccine considered safe
Measles in most people causes fever, a runny nose, a cough and a rash all over the body. However, a very small fraction of those infected can suffer complications such as pneumonia and dangerous swelling of the brain.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the vaccine to all people over one year old, with the exception of people with the disease while they were children. Those who have had measles are immune.
The vaccine, which became available in the 1960s, is considered safe and highly effective, and as a result, measles was declared virtually eliminated in the United States in 2000.
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