5 New Measles Cases In LA County

Four people have contracted measles after being exposed to an infected international visitor on the Westside, according to the county public health department.

Before you panic, just remember that many, many people are immunized to protect against measles when they are children, and the numbers we’re talking about here are very small, so the odds you may have been exposed and be at risk of getting sick are slim. In 2019, there were just 20 confirmed measles cases for the entire year in L.A. County.

That said, measles spreads through the air and by direct contact, and it's highly contagious: if you aren't immunized and you're exposed, you have a 90% chance of contracting it. If you haven’t been vaccinated or don’t know for sure one way or another, you might want to check the map below to see the locations that infected person was known to have visited (and you might want to consider getting that shot).

Note: The locations on the map below were visited by the infected person between Jan. 26 and Feb. 1, 2020. Click each location to see the address and approximate times the person is believed to have visited.

GO DEEPER:

• Here's What You Need To Know About Measles (LAist)