LA colleges quarantine more than 900 people likely to be exposed to measles

More than 900 students and staff from two Los Angeles universities were quarantined on campus or sent home this week in one of the most ambitious efforts ever made by public health authorities to contain the spread of measles in the United States, where the number of cases reached 25 year high.

On Friday afternoon, two days after Los Angeles County ordered these precautions, about 200 of those affected had been allowed to return after proving their immunity to the disease, either through medical records or through tests, indicated the school officials.

Actions at the University of California at Los Angeles and at California State University in Los Angeles – which have more than 65,000 students – testified to the seriousness with which public health officials took the epidemic in Canada. torch.

Those in quarantine have been instructed to stay at home and to avoid contact with other people, even though the manner in which these orders may be enforced or the penalties incurred by the offenders will not be met. was not clear.

"In reality, measles kills people, so we have to take it very seriously," said Dr. Armand Dorian, Chief Medical Officer at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital.

The number of measles cases in the United States has climbed to nearly 700 this year, including five in Los Angeles County and 38 in California. This increase is mainly attributed to parents who do not vaccinate their children because of false information about the supposed dangers.

Cal State-LA reported that 656 students and staff were still in quarantine, while UCLA had fewer than 50.

Call State-LA is primarily a suburban school, while many UCLA students live on campus. Some UCLA students were offered a quarantine area, university officials said, but did not provide details. Only one person stayed there on Friday.

People in quarantine were selected based on their possible exposure to an infected UCLA student who had attended clbades in two buildings three days earlier this month, or to someone with measles who had visited a school. Cal State-LA Library on April 11th. the officials said.

Given the time a person can remain contagious, officials said the quarantine would end at UCLA on Tuesday and at Cal State-LA on Thursday.

Across the country, lawmakers from California, New York, Washington State and Oregon have responded to the epidemic by taking steps to end exemptions from vaccination of the United States. children. On Friday, President Donald Trump urged everyone to get vaccinated.

Most cases are concentrated in two ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in New York – one in Brooklyn, the other in the suburbs of Rockland County.

In Rockland County, officials said the state of emergency and attempted at one time to ban unvaccinated children from school and other public places, but a judge canceled the order.

The authorities ordered mandatory vaccinations earlier in the month in the affected neighborhoods of Brooklyn and threatened a $ 1,000 fine. City officials said earlier this week that 12 people had been summoned.

Measles usually causes fever and a total rash, but in a small number of cases, it can lead to life-threatening complications such as pneumonia and 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.