UCLA employee infected with measles has eaten at a campus food court while being contagious

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The employee's case is the twelfth confirmed case of measles in Los Angeles County this year, according to a statement from the county's public health department, which is investigating. It is the largest outbreak in the United States since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.

The employee had lunch on July 2-3 at a fast food restaurant at UCLA's Science Center Students Center, the university said in a statement. The school and the public health unit asked everyone in the center, called bomb shelters, between 9 am and 11:30 am, to consult a health professional to determine their immunity against measles.

Anyone who could have been there is at risk of contracting measles within 21 days of the exposure, a health department opinion said Tuesday.

"Epidemiologists and the best health experts working on campus work closely with the County Public Health Department to ensure that all those who could be affected receive proper notification and care," said Michael Beck. , Vice Chancellor of the University. "After learning of the situation, UCLA identified and warned employees who might have come into contact or who could have been exposed in any other way."

Most of the 12 cases of measles that were confirmed in Los Angeles County in 2019 occurred in unvaccinated people, the health department said.

Beck said that the university is cleaning employees immunized against measles. Those who are not, are not allowed to go to work until the end of their incubation period, he said.

"I know that measles is a cause for concern, especially among the very small percentage of people in our community who have not been vaccinated," Beck said. "Rest assured that we have the necessary resources for prevention and treatment, and that we work closely with local public health officials in this area."

The most recent measles case is not related to previous exposure to the university, the county health department said.

In April, a quarantine was ordered for hundreds of students, staff and faculty from UCLA and California State University in Los Angeles, exposed to a confirmed case of measles and unable to prove that they had been diagnosed with the disease. they had been vaccinated against the disease.

Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that can spread in the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes or when someone comes in direct contact or shares germs while touching the same objects or surfaces. Symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash of red pimples.

The disease can stay in the air until two hours after a sick person coughs or sneezes and can stay on the surfaces for many hours, making a college campus particularly conducive to the spread of the disease because of the large number of people entering and leaving. buildings.

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