Local News in Brief : Countywide : Outbreak of Measles Prompts Warning

Measles outbreaks in nine county schools affecting 26 students and two parents have prompted county health officials to begin distributing letters advising students to get booster shots.

“A good 70%” of the cases so far involved students who were immunized at between 12 and 15 months of age, when the inoculation is less effective, said Dr. Thomas Prendergast, director of epidemiology for the Orange County Health Care Agency. Those people should get booster shots now, he said.

This is the biggest outbreak in the county since 1980, when 63 cases were reported. A dozen cases were reported last year and 14 in 1986.

In the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, nearly 60 students without proof of immunization were ordered to stay away from classes, said Dale Woolly, head of pupil personnel services. They will be allowed back two weeks from the outset of the last case at their school, Prendergast said, unless they get immunizations. He estimated that more than 95% of county students have been immunized.

Affected schools are Newport Harbor High, with 16 cases, Carden Hall and Ensign Intermediate in Newport Beach, Estancia High and Kaiser Elementary in Costa Mesa, Tustin High and Currie Elementary in Tustin, John Marshall High in Westminster and Swain Elementary in Cypress.

Measles is extremely contagious and can be fatal for up to one out of every 1,000 victims, especially if the person already is ill, Prendergast said.

The symptoms of the viral disease, Prendergast said, are watery eyes, a fever of above 101 degrees, and white spots on the mouth followed by a body rash in three to five days. Complications include include inner-ear infections, pneumonia or infection of the brain, which is the most serious.