LinkedIn Employee with Measles Rode BART for Three Days While Contagious

I had measles as an adult 20 years ago. I didn't know what it was I had - it just felt like a mild case of the flu - so I thought nothing of it. I was a student, living in halls of residence, and continued about my days as normal, albeit feeling rather rough as I did so.

Eventually some spots appeared and, fearing meningitis, I went to the doctor. I took the bus to town, then walked through town to the surgery. I was uncharacteristically early for my appointment, so I sat in the waiting room as people came and went. Eventually the doctor saw me and after poking and prodding gave his verdict. "Don't go anywhere", he said, and left. He came back about two minutes later with a gaggle of passing medical students, so that he could show them what measles looked like. Apparently they didn't get many cases.

"What should I do?" I asked. "Nothing", came the response. "It might get worse. Drink plenty and try to eat."

I walked back across town, and got a bus back to my halls of residence.

If you are vaccinated, then you don't have much to worry about. According to this:

http://www.cdc.gov/measles/vaccination.html

"Measles can be prevented with the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. One dose of MMR vaccine is about 93% effective at preventing measles if exposed to the virus, and two doses are about 97% effective. In the United States, widespread use of measles vaccine has led to a greater than 99% reduction in measles cases compared with the pre-vaccine era. "

And most people are vaccinated:

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/12/science/la-sci-sn-cd...

"The federal government targets 90% childhood vaccination rates. Nationwide, Americans are hitting or exceeding that goal for measles, mumps and rubella; for polio; for hepatitis B; and for varicella (the virus that causes chicken pox). Americans missed targets for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, and for Hib and PCV vaccines."

However, there is something strange happening among the affluent in California, and so a great many children are vulnerable:

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/tech-companies-and-vaccines/

"We selected more than 20 large technology and health companies in the Bay Area and researched their day care offerings. Of 12 day care facilities affiliated with tech companies, six—that’s half—have below-average vaccination rates, according to the state’s data. And those six have a level of measles vaccination that does not provide the “herd immunity” critical to the spread of the disease. Now, this data has limitations—most critically, it might not be current. But it also suggests an incursion of anti-science, anti-vaccine thinking in one of the smartest regions on Earth."

This article doesn't seem to mention the line or route they took, unless I just missed it... My company sent around an email that stated:

> BART announced that a passenger who traveled between the Lafayette Station and Montgomery Street Station during the morning and evening commutes from 6 am to 8 am and 7 pm to 9 pm on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, February 4th - 6th, was diagnosed with the measles.