ALERT: Potential Measles Exposure in Two Eureka Locations

Humboldt County Health and Human Services Department:

Anyone who visited the emergency department at Days Inn in Eureka or Providence St. Joseph Hospital on the following days may have been exposed to measles:

The Days Inn by Wyndham270 Fifth St. in Eureka, Thursday, May 9th, 2pm to Friday, May 10th, 3am.

Providence St. Joseph Hospital Emergency Department2700 Dolbeer St. in Eureka Friday, May 10th, 2:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.

Anyone who was within these locations during this time, with or without symptoms, should contact the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services Public Health at 707-268-2182. Calls will be answered tonight until 8pm and Saturday from 8am to 8pm.

A public health nurse will assess your potential exposure and provide information. For unvaccinated people, getting vaccinated within 72 hours of infection can significantly reduce the risk of severe disease.

Earlier today, Public Health was notified that a family member traveling in the area included an individual who presented to St. Joseph’s Hospital Emergency Department with a confirmed case of measles.
According to the California Department of Public Health, measles is a highly contagious virus that lives in the mucus of an infected person’s nose and throat. It can be transmitted to others through coughing or sneezing. The virus can survive in the airspace for up to an hour after an infected person leaves the area and contacts their eyes, nose, or mouth by breathing in contaminated air or touching an infected surface. Others may become infected.

Symptoms can take 7 to 21 days to appear after exposure to measles, and symptoms usually begin with a fever that lasts several days, followed by a cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis, and rash. The rash usually first appears on the face, hairline, and behind the ears, then affects the rest of the body. Infected people are usually contagious from about 4 days before the rash begins until 4 days after the rash begins. Children under the age of 5 and people who are pregnant or have a weakened immune system are most at risk for serious illness and complications from measles.

Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease. The measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine is 97% effective at preventing disease. For more information about vaccines, contact your health care provider and visit: https://www.cdc.gov/measles/vaccination.html.

Digital vaccination records for most children and youth are available through the California Department of Public Health’s Digital Vaccine Records. https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/.