Public health confirms first case of measles in Santa Barbara since 2016

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has confirmed Friday the first case of measles in the county of the year.

This is also the first case of measles in Santa Barbara County since 2016, according to Public Health.

A man in his 20s who is a resident of Santa Barbara has been identified as the infected. He is considered contagious as of Saturday until Sunday.

The Public Health Department is very confident that the exposure to measles is very limited because the infected spent most of his infectious period outside of Santa Barbara County.

He has been isolated since Wednesday.

Public Health is currently contacting and interviewing anyone who may have been exposed to the infected person to confirm immunization and their immunity status.

The department is also working closely with Riverside County, Los Angeles County, Ventura County, and San Francisco because the infected individual also traveled to these areas during his infectious period.

“We highly encourage every person to know their measles vaccination status by checking in with their health care providers. Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads easily by air and through direct contact with someone who is infected. The MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine is safe and highly effective in protecting individuals from contracting measles,” shared Dr. Henning Ansorg, Health Officer for the PHD.

The Public Health Department makes sure to investigate all contacts the person may have had to prevent any additional spread of measles.

The department also communicates with local healthcare providers to make sure they can quickly identify illness and help prevent the spread of disease.

For more information on measles and how you can protect yourself, check out the information on the Santa Barbara County Public Health website.