Bay Area health officials came together Friday to urge residents in the region to get a measles vaccination if they never received one or if they avoided the disease as a child.
In a statement, the Association of Bay Area Health Officials said it was making the recommendation because measles cases are rising in the United States. Officials said measles outbreaks in west Texas and New Mexico now number about 300 and that two people have died — the first deaths from the disease in the United State since 2015.
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Health officials said the risk of exposure to measles remains low in the Bay Area. The safest way to fight it is to get a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination shot if you’re under 3 years old and to get two of them if you’re older than 3.
“Measles is one of the most contagious viruses in the world, but it is preventable with the MMR vaccine,” San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip said in a statement. “If children in your family are not fully vaccinated, or if you did not have measles as a child, please get the vaccine for the best protection.”
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Officials said the Bay Area has reported five measles cases and that they all developed after international travel. They said there is no evidence that those cases are connected to the ones in New Mexico or Texas.
Measles can cause serious sickness and even death. It spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, talks, coughs or sneezes and can linger in the air for several hours. Symptoms include a fever, cough, runny nose and pink eye, followed by a rash. Health officials said children under 5 years old and adults over 20, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems are at greatest risk
