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Officials Investigating Measles Cases In Nevada Linked To California Outbreak

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Health officials in two states have opened investigations after a student at a university contracted measles, even after being vaccinated.

It was not known if the student at the University of Nevada, Reno, who has not been identified, got both doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, generally given to children 12 to 15 months old, with a booster shot at 4 to 6 years, USA Today reports. The two shots are 97% effective in preventing measles, while one dose is 93% effective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Getting measles after vaccination is unusual, but it is not unheard of. In Kansas, an outbreak of 15 cases that began in March affected mostly unvaccinated babies at a day-care center. One was a fully vaccinated adult.

Greg Lakin, chief medical officer for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said,

They could have just had an incomplete (immune) response, or it’s possible they just had a bad batch (of vaccine).

As of March 30, measles has affected 35 people in 11 states, the CDC said.

The case in Reno was diagnosed on Monday, and is linked to an outbreak in the San Francisco Bay area where there have been six confirmed cases, said Jorge De La Cruz, spokesman for the California Department of Public Health.

The California state health agency, the Washoe County Health District in Nevada and the Placer County Health Department in California are all working on the measles case in Reno. The affected student went to Squaw Valley Ski Resort in Olympic Valley, California, while contagious.

The cases in California involved people who were not vaccinated, according to the Santa Clara County Department of Health.

Some 300 students of the 21,000 students on the University of Nevada, Reno campus have waivers for the required vaccination, stating that they did not receive the vaccinations due to medical or religious reasons, while others had waivers because they only take online courses.

The university’s Student Health Center had given nine MMR vaccines and seven others since the case was reported.

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