Sage Hill School has been monitoring the current outbreak of measles in Southern California. It began last month through an undisclosed Disneyland visitor infected with the measles while overseas and has spread around the country since then. The disease has affected at least one high school in Orange County. Currently there are no reports of measles in the Sage Hill community.

The Washington Post reported that the measles outbreak is up to 121 confirmed cases in 17 states as well as Mexico.

The article also stated, “According to the CDC, measles spread to Nevada (two cases) as well as Delaware, New Jersey and the District of Columbia (one case each), as it continued to plague California, which has 88 cases. Arizona has the second-largest case total with seven.”

The article continued, “Authorities have said the resurgence is mostly caused by the growing number of people who are declining to vaccinate their children for personal reasons, or delaying the vaccinations.”

According to the Orange County Health Care Agency, “Simply being in the same room with someone who has measles is enough to become infected. Because measles is so contagious, it can spread rapidly…If your child has not received at least one dose of MMR [an immunization vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella] and is exposed to measles, he/she may be excluded from attending school or child care to prevent further spread of disease.” Sage Hill intends to follow these guidelines, should the need arise.

Sage Hill’s Health Management Coordinator Meaghan Beaudoin advised Sage Hill families of the measles symptoms, which appear 10 to 14 days after exposure to the virus. “Signs and symptoms typically include: dry cough, runny nose, inflamed eyes (conjunctivitis/pink eye), sore throat, fever, tiny white spots with bluish white centers on a red background found inside the mouth on the inner lining of the cheek and skin rash. The rash typically appears first on the face, along the hairline, and behind the ears and then affects the rest of the body. Infected people are usually contagious from about 4 days before their rash starts to 4 days afterwards.”

Beaudoin helps to ensure the Sage Hill community will not be affected by the outbreak. “We follow the California School Immunization Laws and state education codes. The code states that all students in school either meet the vaccine requirements for specific grade levels, or they must have a medical or religious/personal beliefs exemption. We do accept students who are exempt from the shot for health or religious reasons. If there were any students without immunizations, it would be recorded. If there were an exposure, those families would be contacted.”

For more information about measles, contact your healthcare provider, look at this website or call Orange County Public Health Epidemiology at 714-834-8180 and ask to speak to the Nurse of the Day.