Warning issued after UCB student diagnosed with measles
BERKELEY, Calif. (KTVU) -- A student at the University of California at Berkeley has been diagnosed with measles, sparking concern that other people on campus and in the community might have been exposed to the highly contagious disease.
An AC Transit spokesman said they received an alert from a public health official.
Many UC Berkeley students on campus, however, said they had not received any email or alert from the University as of Monday night.
"That's concerning that I haven't heard anything," said Anne Dodson, a graduate student, "I have all my vaccinations but that would be good to make everyone aware of what's going on."
"They should send out an email or they should post on the wall and let students know," said freshman Chris Kim.
Berkeley Public Health officials said that the student attended classes and spent time in the community during the infectious period from August 24 through August 29th.
On Monday Aug. 24, the student took the AC Transit bus 25-A from campus at 3:30 p.m. and returned by the same bus at 5:30 p.m., officials said.
The student sought care on August 29th and was placed into isolation.
City, county, and state health officials are working with the university to identify those who might be at risk.
Measles is caused by a virus that is spread by coughing or sneezing and can remain in the air or on surfaces for up to two hours.
"The university is a good situation for spreading to happen especially in the dorms," Dodson said, "Even on campus, people are constantly touching doors to get in and out of class."
Symptoms can appear one to three weeks after exposure and include a high fever, runny nose, coughing, watery red eyes and a rash that spreads from the face and neck to the rest of the body.
Those at highest risk from measles are the unvaccinated, infants, pregnant women and those with impaired immunity. Those who have had the recommended two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine are at very low risk, officials said.