5 Disneyland workers diagnosed with measles

LOS ANGELES – Several employees at Disneyland have been diagnosed with measles, health officials confirmed Tuesday, as the total number of measles cases in the California-centered outbreak rose to 53.

Two of those employees had been vaccinated, the Orange County Health Care Agency said. Health officials are investigating whether the other workers have proof of measles immunization.

Disneyland officials said five employees have been diagnosed with measles since Thursday, and all employees who could have been in contact with those five have been asked to provide vaccination records or do a blood test that shows they’ve built immunity to the disease.

Those employees who had not been vaccinated or could not confirm their immunity status have been asked to go on paid leave until their status could be confirmed, park officials said.

Three of the five employees have been treated and cleared. Park officials have worked closely with health officials and put employees on alert.

Orange County health officials confirmed two more measles cases Tuesday, bringing the total number in the county to 18.

A measles outbreak was traced to people at the theme park who visited between Dec. 17 and 20. Since then, the highly contagious disease has spread across California, three other states and Mexico. The virus has begun infecting people beyond those who visited the park and is in the broader community, officials said.

County health officials directed about 24 Huntington Beach High School students who had no proof of measles vaccination to be barred from classes until Jan. 29 after an infected student came to class this month.

Students can remain in school by showing a record of vaccination or through a blood test showing they’ve built immunity to the disease, according to the county Department of Education.

Health officials generally hope a measles outbreak can be contained within a manageable group of people and eventually extinguished by keeping the ill at home or in a hospital room until they recover, with the outbreak eventually being stopped by the broader community of vaccinated people.