Sacramento, Placer counties work together to stop measles outbreak amid rise in cases

Sacramento and Placer counties held a joint press conference along with health officials, giving an update on the measles outbreak in the region. Cases in California and locally are on the rise.

Health officials say there are currently 11 confirmed cases of measles in Sacramento County and eight cases in Placer County.

"The fact she hasn't been able to get the vaccine yet means she's exposed and that's scary," said Tatiana Trujillo, a mother to a 1-year-old.

Some parents are having reservations about being out and about with their infants during the measles outbreak.

"At least until she has the vaccine, I'm definitely going to be more cautious about wiping things down and making sure she's not too close to other kids, unfortunately," said Trujillo.

Traditionally, the first dose of the MMR vaccine is given around one year of age. The second dose is given around age 4.

"It's part of the message. That's why we want to limit the spread of measles because there's certain people, including newborns in the first year of life, who aren't able to be vaccinated. They're more vulnerable," said Dr. Rob Oldham, the health officer for Placer County.

Sacramento and Placer counties are working together to stop the spread of measles. There have been 19 cases across the counties.

Oldham says all of them are children or teenagers. Many cases are being linked to homeschool enrichment programs.

"What seems to be happening here is a different environment where we have people who are unvaccinated who tend to be clustered together now, and that's where we're seeing the spread," said Oldham.

"Is this contributing or is that contributing? My belief is that my kid should be vaccinated. Others have their opinions in what they believe in and what they should do with their children, and they have their right," said Craig Schiro, a dad.

While the spread is relatively contained right now, Oldham says it's one of the most contagious viruses known to man. He says it's the biggest outbreak he's seen in his 12 years here.

"We've been at this for three months now and realizing this hasn't gone away. There's things we can do as a community to help get rid of it so we can end this outbreak," said Oldham.

"If you have a snotty child with a runny nose or coughing, just keep them at home," said Trujillo.