Fogbow

W. Kevin Vicklund wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2024 3:40 pm Also, it has a nasty habit of wiping the immune memory. All those "naturally acquired immunities" your child had? Gone. Look forward to several more years of non-stop childhood illnesses.

A California medical facility is trying to contact about 300 people who were possibly exposed to measles after a child was treated for the contagious viral illness at a hospital in Sacramento last week, officials said.

The child had returned from international travel and was evaluated March 5 at UC Davis Health’s emergency department between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. PT., Sacramento County officials said in a news release.

The hospital said it “has the situation under control” and noted it began contacting about 300 in the facility who may have been exposed. It said, “There are no additional potential exposures at UC Davis Medical Center beyond those people who have been identified and contacted.”

“UC Davis has a record of each patient and employee in the Emergency Department that day, and notifications about potential exposure are being sent through phone calls, the electronic medical record’s online messaging portal, letters, in person, and to the care teams of patients who were admitted from the Emergency Department during the time period,” hospital officials said in a news release.

Those who are unvaccinated against measles, or those with unknown vaccination status who were at UC Davis Medical Center’s emergency department during that time, are at risk of developing measles between seven to 21 days after exposure, Sacramento County public health officials said.

People who were at risk were asked to review their immunization records, contact their health provider and monitor themselves for illness.

“CDC is sending a team of experts to support the local response to the recent measles cases with arrival expected tomorrow. CDC continues to recommend the safe and effective MMR [measles, mumps and rubella] vaccination as part of the routine immunizations schedule for all children and adults, with special guidance for international travel. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available,” the agency confirmed to The Hill in a Tuesday statement.

As of Monday, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) has confirmed five measles cases in the city, with four at a migrant shelter in the Pilsen neighborhood. The two most recent cases were confirmed in adults at the shelter who are in stable condition.

“Because some Chicagoans on the whole are unvaccinated, there remains an opportunity for the virus to spread. CDPH is, therefore, treating this response as a citywide one and is calling on all eligible unvaccinated residents to get vaccinated now. Most Chicagoans are routinely vaccinated in childhood and therefore not at high risk,” the CDPH said in a statement.

The department said it evaluated and immunized 900 shelter residents against measles, mumps, and rubella over the weekend while also accessing the immunity status of 700 others.