NBC Los Angeles Orange County Health Care Agency officials on Monday revealed a toddler has been infected with measles, but the virus is not expected to spread because the family isolated as it was contagious.
Nationally, 1,514 cases of measles have been reported with 23 new ones in the past couple of weeks, officials said.
“Measles is a highly contagious virus that can cause severe illness such as pneumonia, brain swelling and even death, especially in young children who are not protected,” said Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the county’s health officer. “In recent years, approximately one in eight people diagnosed with measles in the U.S. have required hospitalization. Among children under 5, that number rises to one in five.”