Two Los Angeles Universities Hundreds Quarantined After Measles Exposure

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FREDERIC J. BROWN / Getty

In Los Angeles, UCLA and CSU have asked students and teachers to stay at home unless they can prove they have been vaccinated.

After two different students in Los Angeles presented with measles symptoms, the Los Angeles campuses of the University of California and California State University quarantined hundreds of students, faculty and professors. Staff.

According to a statement released by UCLA, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department (LACDPH) alerted the school that one of its students had contracted measles and that even though the person was contagious, she was attending classes on campus. In response, the school warned about 500 students and staff members that they could have been exposed and asked them to provide proof of vaccination. Most could provide documents, but 119 students and eight faculty members who could not be asked not to leave home before being cleaned up.

"I want to assure you that campus epidemiologists and the best health experts work closely with local public health officials to ensure that notifications are sent and that appropriate care is provided to all health professionals. people likely to be affected, "wrote Chancellor Gene Block.

Meanwhile, at Cal State, school officials reported that a person likely to be contagious with the measles virus was at Library North on Thursday, April 11 between 11am and 3pm. The school said 127 employees and 71 students "were sent home quarantined and ordered to stay at home and avoid contact with others as much as possible." Again, these students were allowed to resume their normal activities as soon as they proved they were vaccinated.

"Both universities are helping to implement quarantine orders and determine the best way to help students who need to be quarantined and living on campus," said the County Public Health Department. from Los Angeles.

The California Department of Public Health has reported that the number of measles cases confirmed in 2019 has dropped from 23 to 38 in just one week. The state reported 11 measles cases in total last year.

Los Angeles County declared the official measles outbreak on Monday, April 22, after confirmation of five cases, with international travel causing the disease. Two of these cases involved UCLA and CSU infected students. They urged everyone to get vaccinated before traveling abroad and vaccinating all unvaccinated children. They also listed potential exhibition venues, which included both campuses as well as the airport.

Nationally, measles cases have exploded this year and epidemics have occurred across the country. For the first time in decades, more than 700 cases were reported in the United States in 2019, and the year is not even over. Sixty-six people were hospitalized. The vast majority of cases involved unvaccinated patients.

What is the cause of the epidemic? Although many epidemics begin with international travel to areas where the disease is more prevalent (due to lack of vaccination), they can be transmitted by unvaccinated individuals. Due to the increasing anti-vaxx movement, vaccination rates are declining both in the United States and around the world. The movement, fueled by misinformation and fear, quickly spread to the aid of social media platforms acting as echo chambers.

Two doses of MMR vaccine are 97% effective in preventing measles.

Measles has been declared eradicated in the United States in 20o, but the number of cases has increased rapidly in recent years, more and more people are hesitant to be vaccinated, not only at home, but also abroad . The disease is extremely contagious and can regularly have long-term health effects or be fatal. The best way to end these increasingly scary epidemics? If everyone got vaccinated, we could eradicate it again, simply.

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