Health officials across the Bay Area are trying to contain a measles outbreak after six people have been infected by one patient, who likely got the highly contagious illness during a recent trip to Europe.
According to an advisory sent out by the Santa Clara County Health Department, the patient whose identity was not revealed, had lunch at Westgate Mall on Mar. 2. It also states the patient was at school in Campbell for two days the same month, where he could have been contagious.
"Measles is actually one of the most contagious diseases that we know about because it’s spread through the airborne route," said George Han from the Santa Clara Department of Public Health.
Authorities did not release the name of the school to protect the student's identity.
Four other patients have identified in Santa Clara County, another in Alameda County and a seventh in Washoe County, Nevada.
The patient in Nevada is a student on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno and he reportedly was vaccinated, so there is concern about how he still got infected.
"With measles, the symptoms people get is, they get a fever, they get a rash that begins on the forehead and goes down the body, they have runny nose and cough," said Han.
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If left untreated, measles can be deadly. They can cause pneumonia and swelling of the brain.
