Shasta measles outbreak window ends soon, county says

The Shasta County measles outbreak should end on March 30 if no new cases are reported, the county said yesterday. 

In a presentation to the Shasta Public Health Advisory Board yesterday afternoon, Health and Human Services Agency Community Development Coordinator Jonathan Chocko provided an overview of the county’s response to a measles outbreak that began earlier this year. 

A portion of the presentation included a timeline of Shasta’s outbreak, which showed that the first known person to contract measles was tested at a health care facility on Jan. 29. After the patient was confirmed to have measles, the county alerted health care providers and contacted those potentially exposed. The county notified the public on Jan. 31. 

No new measles cases have been reported in Shasta since Feb. 19. There have been nine total confirmed cases so far, and all were in children who were either unvaccinated or had no history of vaccination. 

Shasta’s measles outbreak comes as various regions across the state and country are also experiencing a rise in measles cases — California has had 29 confirmed cases this year, and the U.S. has had over 1,200. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the far majority of those who have contracted measles in the U.S. so far this year are under 20 years old. 

Chacko said that the projected end of the outbreak in Shasta — if no new cases are reported — is March 30. That date was calculated by adding two 21-day incubation periods to the last date of exposure, Feb. 16, for the most recent measles case, according to Chacko’s presentation. He said this method follows California Department of Public Health guidelines for outbreak response. 

Chacko also shared that there have been no hospitalizations or deaths as a result of Shasta’s measles outbreak so far. He said the county used contact tracing and community outreach to offer those who had likely been exposed a post-exposure prophylaxis treatment, or PEP. PEP is generally recommended for people who aren’t already protected against measles, either through vaccination or past infection.

Shasta Health Officer Dr. James Mu also gave a presentation during yesterday’s meeting. He focused mainly on 2025 health care workforce updates and his priorities in 2026 including the launch a public health officer newsletter that focuses on communicable disease updates, local data and trends and other relevant topics.

Mu reaffirmed during questions after the presentation that the county is still facing a health care provider shortage, and that finding solutions to the shortage continues to be a priority. 

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