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14 infants under quarantine after child in Santa Monica day care contracts measles
MIAMI, FL - JUNE 02: A dose of measles vaccine is seen at the Miami Children's Hospital on June 02, 2014 in Miami, Florida. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week announced that in the United States they are seeing the most measles cases in 20 years as they warned clinicians, parents and others to watch for and get vaccinated against the potentially deadly virus. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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14 infants attending the Santa Monica day care center that closed on Monday are now under quarantine, according to Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District spokeswoman Gail Pinsker.
The day care center closed after one of the infants from the center contracted the measles.
The quarantine is effective for 21 days and only affects the infants. There is currently no quarantine for the toddlers.
According to Pinsker, the Los Angeles County Department of Public health told the district to keep the infant room closed until further notice. The toddler room is expected to be closed through Thursday.
Returning toddlers in the program will have to receive a notice from their doctor stating that the blood test from their immunization is effective and that they are protected against the measles.
The baby who contracted the measles is under a year old, which is too young to receive measles vaccination.
"We were contacted on Friday evening that the baby was symptomatic and had a confirmed case through their pediatrician," Pinsker told KPCC.
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By Saturday the day care center and district nurse began contacting families.
"Babies are immunized at one year with what's called the MMR — the measles, mumps and rubella," Pinsker said. "So this baby did not have that vaccine yet."
The baby is now home and working through the disease Pinsker said. It is unclear how the baby contracted the measles. Pinsker first learned about the situation Saturday morning.
The day care center is used by students who are attending Santa Monica High School who have young children, as well as staff members and some members of the community, Pinsker said.
As of Monday, there were 102 confirmed measles cases in 14 states, and more than 90 of those cases are in California, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak has been linked to the Disney theme parks in Southern California, where a visitor with measles exposed others to the disease in December.
For more information on measles, see our "Measles FAQ: Where to get vaccinated, who should do it and more."
This story has been updated.
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