Key facts
- An unvaccinated passenger infected with measles traveled through at least six California counties.
- The passenger traveled on Amtrak trains and thruway buses, arriving in Los Angeles on September 10.
- The exposure route included Alameda, Butte, Kern, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Joaquin counties.
- Health officials are notifying passengers and station visitors who may have been exposed.
- Pennsylvania has confirmed 731 measles cases and four related deaths this year.
- US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been criticized for addressing an anti-vaccine conference while measles cases rise.
California public health officials have issued a warning about a potential measles exposure affecting at least six counties, stemming from an unvaccinated individual who traveled by Amtrak and bus. The traveler entered California on September 10, arriving in Los Angeles and continuing through various cities including Bakersfield, Stockton, Oroville, Sacramento, and Emeryville before departing for Denver.
Health authorities are working with federal and local partners to identify and notify passengers and individuals who may have been present at stations along the route during the exposure period. This incident highlights concerns about the resurgence of measles in the US, which officials attribute in part to increasing vaccine hesitancy.
Assistant state public health officer Rita Nguyen stressed the safety and effectiveness of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, urging vaccination to protect vulnerable populations. The warning follows other recent measles exposure incidents, including one on an Amtrak train from Missouri to Illinois that exposed over 250 people.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania is grappling with the nation's most severe measles outbreak, reporting 731 cases and four measles-related deaths across 38 counties. The state is seeking emergency assistance from the CDC. The situation has drawn scrutiny to US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who recently addressed a conference hosted by the anti-vaccine organization Children's Health Defense, where he questioned vaccine safety.