Recent reports have confirmed that a student at the Southern California High School has become infected with measles which has its root traced back to the measles outbreak in Disneyland that occurred in December. And the authorities have urged the student’s parents to contact a doctor as soon as the symptoms pertaining to the virus develops in their child.
The Orange County Health Care Agency HCA has released in a statement that its doing as best it can in contacting individuals who might have come in direct or indirect contact with the infected student from the Huntington Beach High School also located in Orange County.
Matt Zahn, Orange County Health Care Agency’s medical director stated in a letter dated January 14th that, “However, the spread of measles virus is very easily possible through air and by direct contact and the notion that simply being in a room with someone who has measles is quite sufficient enough to become infected with the virus.”
A spokesman from the Southern California high school said that currently we are unable to provide sufficient information on the case but more would be followed on Tuesday afternoon. Furthermore, the school district representatives could not be easily accessible for commenting on the issue.
California health officials in particular the Orange County HCA had earlier this month linked an outbreak of measles to Disneyland, stating that anyone who visited the Anaheim based theme park in between Dec. 15th to Dec. 20th were at risk of being infected with measles.
The total number of confirmed cases linked to the Disneyland outbreak has risen to 51 and three suspected cases are being investigated in San Diego County as well and the whole state of California has been put in high alert for containing the spread of the measles virus.
Measles onset symptoms are fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes, followed by the appearance of a red rash that normally starts on the face and spreads downward. Although there is no specific treatment of the virus but flu vaccine does suppresses it but it spreads fairly quickly amongst the unvaccinated children.