Woman with measles attended the opening midnight screening of Avengers: Endgame in Orange County – possibly exposing hundreds to the virus
- The woman, who has not been identified, attended the midnight viewing, spanning from 11pm on April 26 to 4am the next day
- Hours later, she went to the emergency room where she was diagnosed with measles
- She is in her 20s and had recently returned from a vacation in Vietnam, where there is a measles outbreak
A woman with measles went to the opening screening of Avengers: Endgame in Orange County, California – potentially infecting hundreds of people.
The woman, who has not been identified, attended the midnight viewing, spanning from 11pm on April 26 to 4am the next day.
Hours later, she went to the emergency room where she was diagnosed with measles.
Health officials say she is in her 20s and had recently returned from a vacation in Vietnam, where there is a measles outbreak.
Hundreds of people may have been exposed to measles while watching Avengers: Endgame on the opening night in Orange County, officials warn (file image of another movie theater’s opening screening of Avengers: Endgame)
The woman has now voluntarily quarantined herself at her home in Orange County while officials try to identify anyone who might have been exposed at the AMC movie theater in Fullerton.
Measles cannot be treated or cured, and it is incredibly infectious.
Ninety percent of people exposed to the virus – i.e., being in the same room as a measles patient within two hours of them being there – will catch it if they haven’t been vaccinated.
California has some of the tightest vaccine rules in the country, after doing away with most exemptions in 2014 following a measles outbreak.
But the new rules will not have impacted teens and adults.
Health officials are urging anyone who believes they were exposed to check their vaccine record and call their doctor for advice.
It is not possible to vaccinate against the virus after contracting it, though there are some ways doctors can try to dampen the virus in pregnant women and people with suppressed immune systems.