Northern California health workers are scrambling to control a growing measles outbreak centered on a region that is still reeling from the most destructive wildfire in state history.
In Placer County, health staff started scrambling last month when three people fell sick after visiting the home of the original Butte County patient, said Michael Romero, program manager for the public health department.County health staff obtained a list of 285 people who were at a gym when the measles patients were also there so they could call them, Romero said.
“This is one of those all-hands-on-deck sort of responses,” Romero said. “In my time with the county in the last 16 years, I can’t remember the last measles investigation like this.”California may be spared from the larger outbreaks affecting other states because of a state law that tightened vaccination standards three years ago, experts say.
Since the law went into effect, California’s kindergarten vaccination rate has increased from 92.9% to 95.1%, according to state data. Doctors say that a community needs at least 95% immunity to prevent measles from spreading. “When folks [aren’t] taking vaccination recommendations seriously, this is what can happen,” said Tim Mapes, community education specialist with the Shasta County health department.
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