The first case of measles in Santa Barbara County since 2016 has been confirmed by health officials.
The infected man is a resident of Santa Barbara in his 20s, Jackie Ruiz, spokeswoman for the Public Health Department, said in a news release.
The man, who is considered infectious through today, has been in isolation since Wednesday and officials are confident that the exposure was “limited” because he spent much of his infectious period outside the county, Ms. Ruiz said.
The Public Health Department is contacting and interviewing those who may have been exposed to confirm immunization and immunity status. Officials are also working closely with Riverside, Los Angeles and Ventura counties, as well as San Francisco, as the man traveled to these areas during his infectious period, Ms. Ruiz said.
“We highly encourage every person to know their measles vaccination status by checking in with their health care providers. Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads easily by air and through direct contact with someone who is affected. The MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine is safe and highly effective in protecting individuals from contracting measles,” Dr. Henning Ansorg, county health officer, said in a statement.
The total number of measles cases in state is now at 49, as two additional measles cases were confirmed in Northern California on Friday, according to The Sacramento Bee.
The two cases confirmed Friday were in Butte and Glenn counties. Butte County Public Health Department spokeswoman Lisa Almaguer said both counties’ patients were linked back to a measles outbreak that occurred in Butte County on March 24.
Friday’s announcement was the 13th reported case of measles in Butte County since the outbreak was reported in late March.
For more information on measles, checking immunization status or other information, visit countyofsb.org/phd/measles2019.
