Some guests who visited Disneyland and the Disney California Adventure parks went home with a little more than they bargained for. A few different cases of the measles have popped up in people who were visiting the parks between Dec. 15 and 20. Most likely one infectious person was visiting one of the parks during that time and unknowingly passed along the infection, which is an airborne disease.

The nine reported cases of the measles are currently being investigated by the California Department of Health, and there are plans to contact anyone else who is thought to be at risk. The victims have turned up in both California and Nevada, and some of them are children. In California the cases have been reported in Pasadena, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, and Alameda.

The state health officer Ron Chapman urges anyone who thinks that they may have been exposed to immediately contact their health provider, as the measles can be infectious for up to nine days.

The first signs that the measles produce include a runny nose, fever, cough, and red eyes. Within a couple days they start to include the red rash that accompanies the illness, which generally begins on the face area and then spreads down the rest of the body.

Getting a measles vaccination is the most efficient way to prevent the spread of the disease. Many people are hesitant to vaccinate children these days with fear of the potential repercussions, but a recent longterm study has come to the conclusion that the measles vaccinations are a safe option after all.

The study took place over a twelve year period and began with children between the ages of one year to 23 months old. The children received one of two popular vaccines that included a measles vaccination, which covered 725,000 doses.

Results showed that the vaccine version called MMR+V is less likely to cause seizures than the MMRV option, but that when seizures do occur it is in less than one in 1,000 of vaccination cases.

Over the longterm, there was no link found between measles vaccinations and the risks of developing neurological issues, or immune or blood disorders. In fact neither version of the vaccine was linked to any other health concerns whatsoever.

This is an important study, because in recent years there has been a reemergence of the disease due to lack of vaccinations after it was considered eradicated from the country by the year 2000. The comeback of the disease is of course, not a welcome thought.

In the year 2014 there were 610 documented cases in the United States, as reported by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Those are the highest reported numbers since 1994.

The vaccines for the measles are however, quite effective when people are actually getting them. Receiving two standard doses of the MMRV option of the vaccine is suggested to protect from the measles with a 99 percent rate of effectiveness.

Of the most recent cases of measles being contracted at the Disneyland parks, one of the victims had received a vaccine at some point, while the rest had not.