Possible measles exposure at East Bay restaurant
SAN LEANDRO, Calif. - People who dined at a popular East Bay restaurant are being warned that they may have been exposed to measles.
The Alameda County Public Health Department sent out an alert to customers of the Sons of Liberty Alehouse in San Leandro located in a downtown shopping center.
The health department said anyone who dined, worked or even walked into the restaurant on March 9 between 4:45 p.m. and 7 p.m. may have been exposed to measles.
Measles is an airborne virus that is highly contagious. It spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.
"It is like a cloud of pathogens that can stay in the air for up to two hours afterward," said Internist and sports medicine physician, Dr. Anuruddh Misra. "It's extremely dangerous, which is why it's a mandatory vaccination to go into day cares and schools, which is why we take it very seriously. It can be fatal."
Most people in the U.S. are vaccinated for measles, but children can't get the vaccine until they're at least a year old.
The Alameda County Public Health Department says if you have an infant at home who is not vaccinated, if you're a health care or child care worker and think you may have been exposed, you should immediately contact your doctor, as well as public health officials to notify them. People who are unsure of their measles vaccination or have not been vaccinated should also notify them.
"If you're vaccinated you're safe," Misra said. "But the concern is we don't know who's vaccinated or not. It's become so alarming because we didn't think we had to worry about this anymore."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said there have been 58 cases of measles reported nationwide so far this year. That's more than the total number of cases in all of 2023.
"I'm concerned it could suggest people are starting to be more wary of vaccines, especially after the COVID pandemic," Misra said.
At the shopping center where Sons of Liberty Alehouse is located, people also expressed concerns.
"Since I've been alive, we have all just got our vaccinations as children. But there seems to be a fear [of vaccinations] now. So I am a little worried this could lead to more outbreaks," said Doug Reed of San Leandro.
Earlier this week, the American Medical Association warned that the percentage of Kindergartners vaccinated against measles nationwide has declined since 2019. The World Health Organization is also concerned about an uptick in measles outbreaks, globally.
Adults who have had their full dose of measles vaccine as children do not need to get boosters as adults.
The Alameda County health department advises people who are unvaccinated and went to Sons of Liberty Alehouse in San Leandro during that specific time frame should be on the lookout for measles symptoms, which include fever, coughing and especially a rash that can show up anywhere from one to three weeks after you're exposed.