Health
SACRAMENTO – California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith on Tuesday announced that the department is investigating a child diagnosed with measles in Nevada County.
The unvaccinated child showed symptoms of measles after returning to California from travel overseas.
The child has fully recovered but many persons have been exposed including other unvaccinated students at the child’s school.
“As the state’s public health officer, it’s concerning to receive a report of a child with measles because it’s a disease that can easily be prevented,” said Dr. Smith. “Immunization is the best way to protect against measles. Two doses of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccine are approximately 97 percent effective at preventing disease in exposed persons.”
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that is spread through the air when a person who is ill with the disease coughs or sneezes. Symptoms begin with a fever, cough, and a runny nose, as well as red and watery eyes.
These symptoms are followed by a rash that typically appears first on the face, along the hairline, or behind the ears and spreads to the rest of the body.
People with measles are usually contagious for about nine days, including the four days before their rash starts, the day of rash onset and ending four days after. Complications can include diarrhea, ear infections and pneumonia.
Severe complications can be fatal. Infants, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are more at risk of complications from measles.
Two doses of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine are recommended for school-aged children. It’s recommended that children get their first dose of MMR vaccine at 12 to 15 months of age. The second dose of MMR vaccine is usually given at four to six years of age, but may be given sooner.
All persons who travel internationally outside of North or South America should ensure that they receive adequate MMR vaccination.
Adults and children older than or at 12 months of age should receive two doses of MMR vaccine separated by at least 28 days. Infants 6 to 11 months of age who are traveling abroad should receive one dose of MMR vaccine (although they will still need two doses of MMR vaccine after their first birthday).
Individuals getting ready to travel abroad can find information about vaccination from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For more information about measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases visit www.getimmunizedca.org or call your doctor to make sure your family’s immunizations are up-to-date.
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California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith on Friday announced the first confirmed case of Zika virus acquired in California.
This case involves transmission of Zika virus through sexual contact with a Zika-infected partner who returned from a country where Zika virus was circulating, not from a mosquito bite.
The woman who was infected was not pregnant and had not traveled out of the country. She and her partner have fully recovered.
“This is the first confirmed case in California where Zika virus was transmitted sexually,” said Dr. Smith. “If your partner has traveled to an area where Zika is present, protecting yourself by abstaining from sex or using condoms during sex is the best way to prevent sexual transmission of the Zika virus.”
A man infected with Zika virus can spread it to his sexual partners. It is not known how long after infection a man can spread Zika virus to sexual partners. At this time, there is no evidence that women can transmit Zika virus to their sexual partners.
CDPH recommends that if men have traveled to an area where Zika virus is circulating, they abstain from sex or diligently use condoms with a partner who is pregnant or trying to become pregnant for the duration of the pregnancy. These cautions apply to vaginal, anal or oral sex.
Women who want to get pregnant, whose partner has had exposure to Zika virus, should discuss with their health care provider any potential risk of Zika virus during pregnancy.
The virus can spread from a woman to her child during pregnancy and the infection is believed to lead to neurologic complications in the infant, including microcephaly, which is a birth defect in which the baby is born with a smaller-than-normal head due to abnormal brain development.
Most people infected with Zika virus will not develop symptoms. If symptoms do develop, they are usually mild and include fever, rash, joint pain and eye redness.
If you have returned from an affected country and you have fever with rash, joint pain, and eye redness within two weeks, or any other symptoms following your return, please contact your medical provider and tell the doctor where you have traveled.
While there is no specific treatment for Zika virus disease, the best recommendations are supportive care, rest, fluids and medications for relief of fever.
Zika virus is primarily transmitted to people by mosquitoes known as Aedes aegypti (Asian tiger mosquito) and Aedes albopictus (yellow fever mosquito), which are the same type of mosquitoes that transmit dengue and chikungunya viruses. These types of mosquitoes have been detected in 12 California counties. To date, there have been 22 travel-associated cases of Zika virus reported in California in 2015-2016. There has been no local mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus in California.
People who are traveling to areas with known Zika virus risk should take steps to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, including:
· Use insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-diol for long-lasting protection. If you use sunscreen and insect repellent, apply the sunscreen first and then the repellent. Pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding should choose an EPA-registered insect repellent and use it according to the product label.
· Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
· Use air conditioning or window/door screens to keep mosquitoes outside. If you are not able to protect yourself from mosquitoes indoors, sleep under a mosquito bed net.
· Help reduce the number of mosquitoes outside by emptying standing water from containers, such as flowerpots or buckets.
For more information on Zika virus disease and other mosquito-borne illnesses, please visit the CDPH Zika virus information Web page, http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/discond/Pages/Zika.aspx .
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