Mar. 22--Berkeley's school district is reminding parents of roughly 9,000 students to get their measles vaccines after four cases of the potentially deadly disease were reported recently in the Bay Area.
Parents last week received letters in English and Spanish and automated phone calls reminding them to get their kids vaccinated, said school district spokesman Mark Coplan. State law requires students to be vaccinated when they enroll.
No cases have been reported in Berkeley, said health and school officials.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health issued an alert on the four cases Feb. 22. One of them was an unvaccinated adult from San Francisco who contracted the disease inside the United States. Three others -- two toddlers and an adult from other parts of the Bay Area -- were unvaccinated and traveled to Europe and Asia, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco department said. The spokeswoman could not say exactly where they live.
"The San Francisco case who lacks a travel history raises a concern that there may be transmissions locally," the San Francisco health alert said.
A spokeswoman for Berkeley Public Health could not say why the department waited nearly a month to warn Berkeley parents after the San Francisco alert went out.
Measles was uncommon in the United States until 2008, when there was a "significant rise in several states" according to the alert.
Imported cases from developed and developing
countries were responsible for infecting unvaccinated people in the United States, the alert said.
The measles vaccination comes bundled with two others: mumps and rubella, said Zandra Lee, spokeswoman for Berkeley Public Health.
"Measles is a very serious and possibly fatal disease, and children can be protected with two vaccinations," Lee said.
Kids can get the first dose at 12 to 15 months and the second four weeks later, she said, but the second dose usually is given just before the start of kindergarten.
The disease spreads easily and comes with a fever, rash, malaise and a cough. The San Francisco alert reminded doctors that patients with measles should be isolated and wear a face mask. Any visitors or other medical personnel also should wear masks.
Berkeley Arts Magnet elementary school experienced an outbreak of chickenpox about five years ago, Coplan said. The district reminded parents they must have their kids immunized, but some refused.
"They were told that their kids would have to stay out of school," Coplan said. "You have to be vaccinated or you stay out of school."
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