California health authorities declared an end Friday to a large measles outbreak in the U.S. that started at Disneyland and triggered a broader debate about vaccinations.
Disease detectives for months raced to contain the highly contagious disease, which surfaced at Disney theme parks in December and spread to a half-dozen U.S. states, Mexico and Canada.
The outbreak sickened 147 people in the U.S., including 131 in California. There were no deaths.
Officials at the California Department of Public Health said no new infections have been reported for the past 42 days — or two incubation periods — meaning the outbreak is over in the U.S.
But it is still active in the Canadian province of Quebec, where 159 people were sickened. Most belong to a tight-knit religious community with a low vaccination rate.
Many who fell ill in the Disneyland episode were not immunized against measles. Some cited personal reasons for refusing shots, and others were too young to get the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.
Doctors said the outbreak could have been worse if it weren't for the aggressive public health response, which included tracking down people potentially exposed to measles-stricken patients and isolating them until they were no longer contagious.
