Measles Outbreak: Babies in Alameda County Placed in Home Isolation

More than 30 babies in Alameda County have been placed in home isolation after possible exposure to measles.

“I'm terribly upset that someone has made a choice that not only affects their child but other people's children,'' said Jennifer Simon, whose 6-month-old daughter, Livia, was isolated after it was learned she may have been exposed to measles during a visit to the doctor's office.

The measles outbreak linked to Disneyland has Bay Area parents and school officials nervous. At least 70 measles cases of the measles have been confirmed nationwide, with nearly 60 of them in California. That's why the Santa Clara County Office of Education is distributing notices and information about the highly contagious disease to all of its 31 school districts.

School officials say this is typical when a public health concern gets a lot of media coverage. Administrators followed the same protocol months ago when the Ebola virus was in the news.

“It will tell folks to not be alarmed, to check their immunization records both for children and adults, and to make sure to take whatever precautions are necessary,” said Office of Education spokesman Ken Blackstone.

In at least five cases, the patients came down with the measles despite being fully vaccinated. Medical experts are looking into those cases.

While still a scourge in many corners of the world, measles has been all but eradicated in the U.S. since 2000 because of vaccinations. But the virus has made a comeback in recent years, in part because of people obtaining personal belief exemptions from rules that say children must get their shots to enroll in school.

Others have delayed getting their children vaccinated because they still believe now-discredited research linking the measles vaccine to autism.

At Huntington Beach High School in Orange County, two dozen unvaccinated students were ordered home until the three-week incubation period is up.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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