A Ventura County resident and a Santa Barbara County resident who each tested positive for measles were on the same international flight, state officials confirmed.
Beth Deines, spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health, cited patient privacy laws and revealed no information about the flight, its origin and destination except that it occurred in July. She said the state and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to investigate whether other infections could be related to the flight.
“The time window for exposed passengers to become sick and contagious has now passed, and the risk to the public is very low,” she said of the highly contagious diseasein an email. People who remain symptom-free for more than
21 days after being exposed are no longer considered at risk.
Deines said the timing of the Ventura and Santa Barbara county cases suggests "they did not infect each other, but may both have been exposed to measles at the same time, whether during their travels, flight or under other circumstances."
The Ventura County case is the county's first since 2017. It was announced by public health officials Aug. 5 and linked to international travel. Though they cautioned that other people could have been exposed to the disease from July 26 to Aug. 2 at several businesses in Oxnard and Ventura, they said no new infections have emerged as of Aug. 17.
Los Angeles County public health officials said the infected person also visited Universal Studios Hollywood on July 26 but have issued no additional reports of related measles cases and said on Aug. 17 they had no updates.
Dr. Uldine Castel, Ventura County health officer, said the infected person was an adult and had recovered. Castel said health officials were unable to verify whether the person had been vaccinated as a child. She declined to give a city of residence or any other identifying information.
The Santa Barbara County case, announced on Aug. 11, is the county's first confirmed measles infection since 2019. No additional infections have emerged, and the case is no longer active, said Santa Barbara County Public Health spokesperson Ryyn Schumacher.
The infected person's vaccination status was uncertain because of a lack of documentation, Schumacher said.
Deines, of the California Department of Public Health, said many of the state’s measles cases occur after international travel. She urged people to get vaccinated before departing the country.
“It takes two to three weeks after getting the shot for your body to best protect you against measles,” she said.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Connection found in Ventura County, Santa Barbara County measles cases
