With more reported cases of measles outbreak in California, Health authorities have confirmed the reason as visits to Disneyland or the adjacent California Adventure Park in the month of Dec 2014 . So far 26 cases have been confirmed in California. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts said the company is working with the California health department to provide more information and assistance.

More cases of measles have been confirmed in Utah, Colorado and Washington. Four other possible measles cases are under investigation and six people have been hospitalised, according to a Reuters report. The Disney Park attracts thousands of visitors a day and the number surges during holidays. "The biggest concern is the potential for more outbreaks," said Dr. Mark Zahn.

Viral Disease

Measles is a deadly viral disease that typically starts with fever, cough, running nose and red eyes, and followed by red rashes on the body, beginning with the face and then spreading it downward. So far, there is no specific treatment with most people recuperating within weeks. But in malnourished children and people of poor immunity, measles can lead to complications such as blindness, encephalitis, diarrhea, ear infection and pneumonia.

"The current spurt in measles cases is being driven by unvaccinated people, primarily U.S. residents, who got measles in other countries, brought the virus back to the United States and spread to others in communities where many people are not vaccinated," observed Dr. Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general and director of CDC's National Center for Immunisations and Respiratory Diseases, while reacting to a large scale outbreak that happened in May 2014.

According to Health officials, a majority of those infected have not been vaccinated against the disease. They are concerned that thousands have been exposed to the highly contagious disease that trasmits through the air. In 2014, the U.S. saw the largest number of confirmed measles cases, since 1994, with 288 people getting infected in the first half of the year, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. It said a majority of these cases have been associated with the international travel of unvaccinated people.

Fear of Side effects

However, Dr. Bob Sears, a paediatrician who practices in Orange County, near the Disney Park, has been treating a lot of patients who have not been vaccinated. Vaccination is feared because of parental fears about serious disorders like autism, reported US Sputnik News. Sears downplayed the measles outbreak and advised patients, through his website, not to panic. The CDC clarified that the risk of a serious allergic reaction to measles vaccines is unfounded and it happens in less than one in a million.