Shasta County investigates confirmed measles case; public urged to watch for symptoms

REDDING, Calif. — Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency is investigating a confirmed measles case in Shasta County, the agency said in a Friday press release.

The patient is in isolation to prevent the spread of the highly contagious disease until the infectious period is over, according to the release.

Public Health staff are contacting people who may have been in contact with the patient during an eight-day contagious period, the agency said.

The agency said it is working with the following locations to contact employees and members of the public who were there during the listed times: Osaka Sushi on Jan. 23 from 6:30-10 p.m.; Cross Point Church during a basketball game on Jan. 24 from 1:45-5 p.m.; Costco on Jan. 24 from 6:30-9 p.m.; and Churn Creek Health Care Clinic on Jan. 28 from 1:45-5 p.m.

Anyone who was at those locations during those times can call the county’s measles hotline at 530-638-5580 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Sunday to speak with Public Health staff, the agency said.

Public Health staff asked people who were at those locations to check whether they have received two doses of the measles vaccine, which is usually given as the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella. The agency said people who have had both doses have less than a 1% chance of getting measles after being exposed.

The agency said children usually get a first dose at 12 months or older and a second dose before kindergarten, or at least one month after the first dose. It also said many adults vaccinated before the 1990s may have received only one dose, and encouraged those individuals to ask their health care provider whether they should get a second shot.

The county said people born before 1957 are likely to already have immunity.

The agency said symptoms can include a rash that typically appears first on the face along the hairline and behind the ears before spreading to the rest of the body, as well as high fever that may spike to more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes.

Complications can include ear infections in about one of every 10 children with measles and diarrhea in fewer than one in 10 people with measles, the agency said.

Infected people are usually contagious from about four days before their rash starts to four days afterward, according to the release.

To prevent spreading the disease, the agency urged anyone displaying symptoms not to go out in public or to a clinic, hospital or physician’s office, and to call a physician instead.

Press release: