No measles cases reported in San Diego County

Samples from suspect measles cases continue to arrive at the San Diego County Public Health Lab, but none have tested positive for the virus, the county Health and Human Services announced recently.

Through May 7, the county had tested lab specimens in 35 suspect measles cases, and more are coming almost daily. HHSA has personnel on hand to take calls and referrals from doctors 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

County health officials said that is a good thing because the local medical community is aware to be on the lookout for the highly contagious virus and is reporting suspect cases as they should be.

"We're confident that our local medical systems can detect a potential measles case," Dr. Wilma Wooten, county public health officer, said.

"Providers are reporting suspect cases and that's good, because that means that doctors are looking," Wooten said, adding that the HHSA epidemiology staff has also been consulting with the medical community to help them determine if a patient is experiencing measles symptoms.

A lot of media attention has been focused on the outbreak and cases being reported in Los Angeles and Orange counties. But Dr. Eric McDonald, medical director of HHSA's Epidemiology and Immunization Branch, said that locally there may be a higher risk of identifying a case in a traveler to a country with a measles outbreak and high number of cases. In San Diego County, there has not been a measles case since 2017, when two cases were reported.

What should residents do if they've traveled overseas and are now experiencing measles symptoms such as a high fever or a rash?

Call the doctor or medical provider before showing up to get medical attention.

"It's important for people to call ahead so that their doctor can take precautions before you go there, so that other people are not exposed," McDonald said.

What is measles?

Measles is a highly contagious virus that can be found in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person.

It spreads through the air by coughing or sneezing. Measles virus can live for up to two hours in the airspace where the infected person coughed or sneezed.

If other people breathe the contaminated air or touch the infected surface, then touch their eyes, noses or mouths, they can become infected.

How to prevent measles

Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected.

Symptoms of measles include: high fever over 101 F, runny nose, red watery eyes, cough and a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.

For more information on measles, visit the Health and Human Services Agency, the California Department of Public Health or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites.