County health officials Thursday urged residents to protect themselves from measles by vaccinating as cases surge across the country, including local cases in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

No cases have yet been recorded in San Diego County this year, but five cases in those above counties have led to exposures in Disneyland, airports, restaurants, shops and other public spaces.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, measles is one of the most contagious of infectious diseases. If not immunized, a person exposed to someone with measles has a 95% chance of becoming infected.

“If you have traveled internationally or nationally near an outbreak area and are experiencing fever and a rash, call your healthcare provider immediately,” said Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan, county public health officer. “Measles can be a very dangerous illness, especially for babies and young children.”

Measles spreads through tiny airborne droplets that can linger in the air for hours and survive on surfaces. The virus — declared eliminated from the United States in 2000 by the World Health Organization due to the success of vaccination efforts — is making a strong comeback with a record 2,267 cases and 49 outbreaks reported nationwide last year — nearly all among those who are unvaccinated. January 2026 marked the highest number of cases for that month in 26 years, a county statement read.

An ongoing, large outbreak in South Carolina has reached 876 cases, surpassing the 2025 Texas outbreak that reached 762 cases and claimed the lives of two children before it ended in August 2025.

Infants under 12 months are most at risk because they have not yet received the measles vaccine. Children over 12 months who are not immunized and people with weakened immune systems are also highly vulnerable.

Measles typically develops seven to 21 days after exposure. Early symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes. A distinctive red rash usually appears one to four days after early symptoms start. A person is considered contagious four days before and four days after the rash appears. The rash typically begins on the face and head, then proceeds downward and outward to the hands and feet. It fades in the same order it began, from head to feet.

According to the county, measles complications are more common in children younger than 5 years old and adults 20 years and older. Complications can include diarrhea, ear infections and pneumonia. Death can occur from severe complications and the risk is higher among younger children and adults.

There is no treatment for measles. Bed rest, fluids and fever control are recommended. People with complications may need treatment for their specific problems.

“The best way to prevent measles and protect your child from getting sick is with a vaccine,” Thihalolipavan said. “Getting the measles vaccine is much safer than getting measles. Two doses of the vaccine are 97% effective at preventing measles, and more than 95% of a community should be vaccinated to prevent a measles outbreak.”

Children on a normal vaccination scheduled are inoculated with the MMR vaccine, which also vaccinates against mumps and rubella.

For more information about measles and/or other vaccine-preventable diseases, visit the county’s Health and Human Services Agency’s Immunization Branch online or by phone at 866-358-2966.

I was on a whale-watching trip Wednesday aboard the Legacy off San Diego when dolphins stole the spotlight in spectacular fashion.

We had just observed a southbound gray whale that did not stay near the surface long enough for quality views, so our captain ventured farther offshore.

We saw common dolphins in the distance, beyond Point Loma. But they, too, moved lazily atop a calm ocean during an unseasonably warm afternoon.

But as we approached, still a few hundred yards away, the dolphins changed behavior as if they had been activated by a switch. 

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – We’re getting an early look at some of the data from this year’s Point In Time Count.

The San Diego River Park Foundation reported that the number of unhoused people it counted along the San Diego River is down significantly.

“We’ve been seeing in the last year that it feels like there are fewer people in the riverbed,” Sarah Hutmatcher of the San Diego Riverpark Foundation said. “It’s really great to be able to confirm it and to be honest, a little surprising even that it was even so low.”

Hutmatcher and her organization recently took part in this year’s Point In Time Count, an annual snapshot of how things are looking with the homelessness crisis in San Diego County.

“We were super excited this year to be able to say that there were under 150 people in the riverbed,” Hutmatcher said.

148 people were counted in San Diego and in Santee specifically, according to Hutmatcher.

To put things in perspective, the San Diego River Park Foundation counted more than 290 people living along the Riverbed with last year’s Point In Time Count. That’s a 50 percent drop from last year to this year’s count.

The Point In Time Count is a one-day count in January.

However, the foundation conducts seasonal censuses of those living along the riverbed.

“So when we counted in the fall in September of 2025, we counted 294 people living in the San Diego Riverbed, and now we’re seeing 148. So that’s a huge impact and a huge, you know, break for the river, which is really not a place that’s meant to be meant for human habitation,” Hutmatcher said.

ABC 10News has covered the efforts to help those who are staying along the riverbed, the clearing of encampments there, and people getting placed into housing as well.

“When I first got the numbers, I wanted to do the Irish jig,” Ketra Carter, the Program Manager for the City of San Diego’s Homelessness Strategies & Solutions Department, said.

While Carter couldn’t speak to the River Park Foundation’s numbers, she felt that all of the money and efforts put into the riverbed were a reason for the reduction.

“Not only were we able to utilize this money to facilitate temporary lodging and temporary stays, supportive services in connection to other services for self-sufficiency, we were able to get them housed into what is permanent stability,” Carter said.

Hutmatcher felt that effort is making a difference as well.

“I think the last 18 months has been a lot of that work of, you know, making contacts and talking to people and finding them alternative places to stay,” Hutmatcher said.

While the entire Point In Time Count data isn’t expected until this spring, there’s reason for optimism with these numbers.

“I hope that the San Diego Riverbed going down is representative of what’s happening in the rest of the county. I think it’s hard to say, you know, because people who are living in the riverbed are hopefully not just moving to other parts of the county, they’re moving into housing,” Hutmatcher said.

If you’re interested in joining the River Park Foundation on its next census, you can register here.