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U.S. NEWS Friday 26 april 2019

Quarantines at 2 L.A. universities amid U.S. measles outbreak

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER dents and eight faculty sles cases as of Thursday;
Associated Press members had not pro- there were 11 around the
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hun- vided medical records by same time last year, said
dreds of students and staff Wednesday showing that Dr. Karen Smith, director of
at two Los Angeles univer- they were immune. By the California Department
sities have been placed Thursday afternoon, 43 of of Public Health.
under quarantine because them had been released The state typically sees few-
they may have been ex- after proving they had er than two dozen cases a
posed to measles and ei- been vaccinated. year, she said.
ther have not been vacci- Meanwhile at Cal State, a This year, California’s cases
nated or cannot verify that person infected with mea- stretch across 11 counties
they are immune, officials sles visited a library and and affect patients from 5
said Thursday. possibly encountered hun- months old to 55.
The order issued late dreds of employees, some More than 76% of patients
Wednesday in connection of whom were students. were not vaccinated or
with the University of Cali- In this Feb. 6, 2015, file photo, a flyer educating parents about One hundred ninety-eight did not receive the recom-
fornia and Cal State Univer- measles is displayed on a bulletin board at a pediatrics clinic in of them could not provide mended two doses of vac-
sity requires that affected Greenbrae, Calif. their immunization records, cine, Smith said.
people stay home, avoid Associated Press according to a statement Fourteen of those infected
contact with others and we have the resources we uted to misinformation that from the Cal State. had traveled overseas to
notify authorities if they de- need for prevention and is turning parents against Health officials determined countries including Philip-
velop measles symptoms. treatment, and that we vaccines. that there is “no known cur- pines, Thailand, India and
Los Angeles County public are working very closely Roughly three-quarters of rent risk related to measles Ukraine.
health officials issued quar- with local public health of- this year’s illnesses have at the library at this time,” Measles in most people
antines of 24 to 48 hours ficials on the matter,” UCLA been in New York state. Cal State said in its state- causes fever, runny nose,
until proof of immunity is Chancellor Gene Block in A UCLA student who was di- ment. cough and a rash all over
established, according to the statement. agnosed with measles pos- The orders come as a small the body.
a statement from UCLA. Measles in the United States sibly exposed 500 people outbreak of measles occurs However, a small fraction
Some people may need to has climbed to its highest on campus to measles in in Los Angeles County in- of those infected can suf-
be quarantined for up to a level in 25 years, closing in early April, according to a volving five confirmed cas- fer complications such as
week. on 700 cases this year in a statement from the school. es linked to overseas travel. pneumonia and a danger-
“Please be assured that resurgence largely attrib- Of those people, 119 stu- The state recorded 38 mea- ous swelling of the brain.q