The director of the Arizona Department of Health Services says the impact of the Disneyland measles outbreak is probably over.
To date, more than 100 cases of measles have been associated with the California Disneyland outbreak, including seven in Arizona.
"Weโre lucky no 'third generation' cases have been found here (yet).," state health department director Will Humble recently wrote in his director's blog.
"Measles can take up to 21 days to develop in a person who has been exposed to the disease, so weโre not out of the woods quite yetโฆbut if we donโt get any new cases by Valentineโs Day, this outbreak is likely over for Arizona."
Still, department spokeswoman Laura Oxley says two complete incubation periods are needed to be able to say Arizonans are officially out of the woods on this outbreak. As long as there are no more cases, the outbreak will officially be over March 7.
In Kearny, Arizona, where one of the measles cases exposed more than a thousand people, the community is very well vaccinated โ 100 percent of kindergartners and 97 percent of sixth graders are fully immunized against measles, which likely helped stop measles in its tracks, Humble wrote.
However, while the Disneyland outbreak seems to be winding down in Arizona, measles remains a real threat, Humble says.
"Measles is still endemic in other countries," he wrote. "The best thing we can do to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities, is to get vaccinated."
