Measles Suspected in Pupil’s Death

Public health authorities are investigating the death of a 10-year-old boy to determine if the measles epidemic that killed six people elsewhere in Southern California during January has now claimed its first San Diego County resident.

Although the county Department of Health Services has not recorded any deaths linked to the measles epidemic, the coroner’s office has launched an inquiry into the death of Hector Lopez, 10, a fourth-grader at Sunset View Elementary School in Point Loma.

The boy, who died Thursday after being admitted to Paradise Valley Hospital, had contracted measles, as did his brother, according to Jerry Hooper, the school’s principal. Hector’s 12-year-old brother, Richard, a sixth-grade student at Sunset View Elementary, was in good condition at Children’s Hospital, where he was being treated for measles and dehydration, said Mark Morelli, a spokesman for the hospital.

County Public Health Officer Dr. Donald Ramras declined Tuesday to speculate on what caused the boy’s death. “It’s highly likely that he at least had measles, but at this point we don’t even have absolute confirmation that he had measles,” Ramras said. “Without autopsy results, it’s not possible to have an absolute, proven diagnosis” of what caused the death.

A coroner’s spokesman Tuesday said the investigation won’t be complete for at least several days.

A measles epidemic has been plaguing Southern California since 1987. It generated 3,000 reported measles cases during early 1989, but seemed to wane during the last quarter of the year.

However, reported cases in Southern California began to rise dramatically early in January.

Los Angeles, Riverside and Fresno counties in January reported their highest monthly totals since the latest outbreak began. Orange County reported its first measles-related death when a 7-month-old baby died from complications related to the disease. In San Bernardino County, three residents died during January, just two fewer than during all of 1989.

In keeping with the year-end slowdown elsewhere in California, no new cases were reported during December in San Diego County. But 11 confirmed cases and 81 probable cases were reported between Jan. 1 and Friday, said Ramras, adding, “Most of the probables typically turn out to be measles, so we’re looking at something in the neighborhood of 90-odd cases, which would be worse than last year.”

Ramras cautioned parents against taking needless steps to protect their children against the epidemic.

“The fact that this boy died is of great significance to his family, but it doesn’t mean that the kids at school have to do anything different,” Ramras said. “We know from experience that a child with measles will not usually spread it to other children at that same school.”

Last year, Ramras said, not one of 40 cases involving measles-infected children at San Diego schools was linked to a secondary cases. “It’s not spread at school,” Ramras said. “That’s pretty much the pattern.”

State law requires all children to be inoculated against measles and a handful of other relatively common communicable diseases before enrolling in school, Ramras said. School records confirmed that both Hector Lopez and his brother, Richard, had been inoculated before enrolling, Hooper said.

However, late last year, federal health officials recommended that children be inoculated twice against measles because the serum now in use is effective only 95% of the time.

The county Health Services Department recommends that parents have children inoculated at 15 months and once again when they enter kindergarten or first grade, Ramras said.

But Ramras said the county is unable to provide the second inoculation because of funding cuts. In fact, given current federal and state budget proposals, “next year we may not have enough money to sustain the immunization activities even without the second dose,” Ramras said.

Funeral services for the Lopez boy were held Tuesday at St. Jude’s Shrine in Southeast San Diego, Hooper said.

Although there is concern for the boy’s friends and family, there’s no need for panic, Hooper said. “The whole community has been very, very supportive and understanding of the Lopez family. The primary concern at this point has been to go through the grieving process for one of our community.”