If you are a UCI student, staff or faculty member you should’ve received a Zotmail on January 10th regarding the presence of measles in Orange County and specifically identifying the UCI Ayala Science Library as one possible point of exposure here on campus. Since then, the numbers have grown and it is gaining a lot more media attention. According to the latest update by the Orange County Health Care Agency, there are now 22 confirmed cases of measles here in Orange County; all of which trace back to the initial identification at Disneyland Parks in mid-December.
What you need to know about measles:
• Measles spreads by air and by direct contact with an infected person.
• Measles causes high fever, rash, cough, and red, watery eyes and symptoms generally appear about seven to 14 days after a person is infected.
• People are contagious from approximately four days before the rash appears through four days after the rash appears.
• Anyone suspected they have measles should call their medical provider before arriving at the medical office to avoid exposing other to the measles virus.
• For additional questions regarding measles (not covered above) students, staff & faculty are encouraged to contact the UCI Student Health Center @ http://www.shs.uci.edu/
Although the risk of contracting the disease in Orange County is still relatively low, measles is incredibly contagious and people can be exposed to it simply by being in the same room as a measles case during their infectious period. Vaccination is critical to prevent the ongoing spread of this disease. Many of us received the vaccination for measles (MMR) when we were too young to remember. Others, perhaps, aren’t sure if this is something they ever received. You may be a person that never received it as a child but are open to it now as an adult. In any event, the UCI Police Department encourages our community to use this current situation as an excellent reason to review your vaccination history and immunization records.
For more information regarding infection prevention, please see the following article in the OC Register by one of our own doctors up at the UCI Medical Center. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/measles-648810-health-vaccine.html
We encourage the community to partner with the UC Irvine Police Department to prevent or report crime by calling (949) 824-5223. If you wish to remain Anonymous, call “OC Crime Stoppers” by dialing 855-TIP-OCCS (855-847-6227), text "OCCS" plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or use the website http://occrimestoppers.org/
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