Measles Breaks Out in SoCal; Santa Barbara Case Confirmed
Disease Confirmed at Goleta Valley Hospital
In the first time in recent memory, Santa Barbara County Public Health officials announced a confirmed case of measles. On Tuesday at about 7:30 p.m., a Santa Barbara man was admitted to Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital. He felt ill soon after returning from Los Angeles.
Hospital staff took immediate precautions, confining him to an infection control room, according to Susan Klein-Rothschild, County Public Health’s spokesperson. He was treated and released, and he was instructed to go into isolation.
Klein-Rothschild declined to reveal specifics about the man’s prior whereabouts or immunization history, but she noted there is currently an outbreak in Los Angeles. Twelve people are believed to have contracted the airborne disease. “It is highly, highly contagious,” she stressed. Of the 12, just one was fully vaccinated, she added. Protection against measles requires two doses of the MMR vaccine, she said, noting it is 97 percent effective.
