Second measles patient confirmed in Fresno County, linked to first case

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A second case of Measles in Fresno County.

"That is really alarming, especially since we haven't had any for a long, long time that is really concerning for sure," says Jessica, Fresno County Resident.

Health officials say the infected person is an unvaccinated adult, linked to the first confirmed case. The county is still actively contact tracing, but so far has confirmed the person went to the Winco Foods in Clovis off of Ashlan and Peach last Thursday between the hours of 4:30 and 7 p.m.

Everyone who was there during that time is considered exposed. The most vulnerable to the virus are the unvaccinated, pregnant, or those with a compromised immune system.

"For those individuals, that were at the Winco at that time, we recommend that they stay home and monitor for the development of symptoms. We also recommend that they call their doctor," says Dr. Trinidad Solis, Deputy Health Officer for Fresno County Department of Public Health.

Anyone who was at the store during that time is now being asked to scan the QR code below, or visit this website, to take an exposure survey. Taking the survey will allow the county to get ahead of a possible spread.

Doctors say the highly contagious disease. spreads through the air and can linger for up to an hour.

"The best way to protect yourself against measles is to get the measles vaccine. It comes in the form of a combined vaccine MMR; two doses of this vaccine are 97% effective against measles, so that's pretty high for a vaccine," says Dr. Solis.

According to the CDC, so far this year there have been a total of 301 confirmed measles cases nationwide already surpassing the 285 total cases for 2024.

There has also been one known death linked to a measles infection, being the first recorded in a decade. A second death remains under investigation.

"The amount of people who are getting it so quickly, especially ever since Covid and the vaccines everybody's really hesitant about that. It's just really scary and really alarming and something to look out for," says Jessica, Fresno County Resident.

At this point, Fresno County's measles vaccination rate for kindergarteners for the 2022-2023 school year is 96.4% meaning most are protected, and officials say the risk to the general public remains low.

Symptoms can take anywhere from 7-21 days to develop following exposure, which in this case falls from March 20th through April 3rd.

Common symptoms include fever, cough, tiny white spots inside the mouth, and a skin rash. If you begin to feel any of these symptoms you're asked to call your doctor.

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