Hospital warns that hundreds of people may have been exposed to measles after transporting a child to the emergency room

Nearly 200 people may have been exposed to the measles virus after a 7-year-old girl visited the emergency department of the Davis Medical Center at the University of California with a rash that was 39, turned out to be measles. A 7-year-old boy with a terminal illness was evaluated in the same room as the measles patient before the doctors became aware of the virus and closed the room to clean it up, reports a local affiliate. CBS.

After the exhibition, the hospital sent letters to patients and other visitors to the hospital to warn them of any possible exposure.

"You will need to inform your primary care provider (s) and your child's provider of this potential exposure to discuss your risk of infection, vaccination history, and other issues you may have. could have, "reads the letter. "If other members of your family accompanied you to the waiting room on the day of your visit, they will also want to inform their doctor."

Fortunately, the 7-year-old patient did not have measles 16 days after exposure. Officials have noted that it usually takes between eight and 12 days from the time of infection for the symptoms to develop, but it can range from seven to 21 days. No other cases of measles or patients with virus-related symptoms have been reported to the medical center, a pediatric infectious disease officer told the publication.

In the first three months of this year, the number of measles cases in the United States has already exceeded that of 2018. Last year, 287 cases occurred, while the Control and Prevention Centers in the United States (CDC) report that between January 1 and March 28, 387 individual cases have already been confirmed in 15 states.

Health officials blame recent trends for so-called anti-vaxxers who refuse to vaccinate their children on religious or philosophical grounds. (And, of course, the statement that vaccines are the cause of autism.) It is not the case.) There is a glaring problem: large pockets of people who do not get their vaccines. Group immunity hampers the spread of measles and other diseases, a concept that if a sufficiently high percentage of the population is vaccinated, the virus can no longer be controlled and thus protect the general population of the infection. Collective immunity protects people who can not be vaccinated for various health reasons, such as children too young to receive their vaccines, pregnant women or immunosuppressive people such as the 7 year old UC Davis.

Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) – which are highly contagious and spread by coughing and sneezing – require between 90 and 95% of the vaccinated population. In the United States, 91.1% of children aged 19 to 35 months have received the MMR vaccine – but this is only an average and does not necessarily represent the hot spots of unvaccinated communities.

If you think you or your child are susceptible to measles, call the hospital in advance. It can prepare you for your arrival while minimizing the risk of exposure.