PALM DESERT - Nearly 70 students in Riverside County will miss up to seven days of classes because they haven't been immunized for measles.

Since the 66 Palm Desert High School students haven't been immunized, they need to avoid classes until Feb. 9 unless they confirm they've received immunization or show proof of resistance as determined by a Titer test, according to the Desert Sands Unified School District.

The decision comes after it was determined earlier this week that a student likely had measles. The student no longer is infectious and has been cleared to return to school, County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser said, but exposed unvaccinated or non-immune students still could be incubating the disease.

"We're trying to prevent a second wave of cases," Kaiser said. The affected students will be excluded from school for about 10 days", Kaiser said.

Health officials throughout the country have been concerned about a measles outbreak tied to Disneyland and Disneyland California Adventure in Anaheim, before Christmas.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 68 people from 11 states reported to have measles, as of Jan. 23. Most of the cases were tied to the Disneyland outbreak.

In 2014, the CDC reports there were 644 cases from 27 states. That is the largest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000.

And in Arizona, health officials believe a woman who has recently been diagnosed with measles may have exposed as many as 195 children at a children's center to the disease.

Earlier this month, health officials in Orange County, where Disneyland is located, told 24 unvaccinated students to stay home for three weeks — the incubation period for measles — after learning that an infected student attended Huntington Beach High School. (Sources: Desert Sun and INT)

Story Date: February 1, 2015