Residents of Santa Clara County are on alert following a confirmed case of measles in a visitor who passed through the area recently, health officials said yesterday. The individual, whose medical details have been withheld, visited local spots in the county—including a Starbucks on Blossom Hill Road and Taqueria Los Pericos on Water Street—as well as San José Mineta International Airport, potentially exposing the public to the highly contagious virus, according to the County of Santa Clara.
The public health advisory specifically outlines the locations and times people may have been exposed: at the Starbucks mentioned above last Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Taqueria Los Pericos on the same day between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., and Terminal B at the airport the following morning from 5:15 a.m. till 7:30 a.m., particularly passengers on Southwest Airlines Flight WN 2804 might be at risk if they are not vaccinated or are immunocompromised. Local health facilities and providers are on high alert, anticipating potential spikes in calls and visits about this case.
The Public Health Department has called for anyone who visited these places during the specified times to check their measles immunization status; those lacking immunity should be vigilant for any signs of infection. "Measles is highly contagious and spreads through the air when someone with measles speaks, coughs, or sneezes. It is very easy for anyone close to the individual to become infected," Dr. Monika Roy, Communicable Disease Controller and Assistant Health Officer at the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department warned, emphasizing the need for those who believe they may have been exposed to contact their healthcare provider posthaste, as per the County of Santa Clara.
Collaboration between local health departments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the California Department of Public Health is underway to identify and notify close contacts of the individual during their infectious period, with a special focus on the passengers aboard Southwest Airlines Flight WN 2804. The anonymous adult case was infected out of state before traveling to Santa Clara County. Still, luckily for residents, the county boasts high measles vaccination rates, meaning most locals have a level of protection from the MMR vaccine. However, the very young, the unvaccinated, and people with compromised immune systems might be at more serious risk.
