Measles Shots Will Be Required for New CSU Students in Fall

New students at California State University’s 19 campuses will have to show proof of measles and rubella immunization next school year or get a shot to protect them against the diseases, the university chancellor has ordered.

The program will be one of the most sweeping measles immunization plans for college-age students in the nation, officials said.

Although there have been no outbreaks of measles at any of the CSU campuses, the order was issued because several universities in the Midwest and East have reported widespread infections, said David Kagan, CSU dean of academic affairs.

“This is for purposes of prevention,” he said. “It doesn’t take that many cases for an epidemic to occur because of the infectious nature of the disease.”

Adults afflicted with measles can develop potentially fatal complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis. Rubella--or German measles--poses a danger to the babies of pregnant women, officials said. The close quarters of college campuses can provide fertile conditions for the spread of infectious diseases, they said.

Proof of Immunization Required

Under the order, issued by Chancellor Dr. W. Ann Reynolds, all students under 30 registering as new or readmitted students must present proof of immunization during the fall semester. The order also applies to all students who live in dormitories, attended elementary or high school in foreign countries, plan to work in hospitals or act as student teachers around young children, or are enrolled in nursing, medical technology and physical therapy courses, Kagan said.

Those who cannot prove they have immunity to the disease will have to receive a shot, offered free at student health centers, by the start of the spring semester, Kagan said. Medical waivers will be given to students who should not be injected with the live-virus vaccine, such as pregnant women and students with diseases that compromise their immune systems, such as AIDS or cancer.

People under 30 are especially vulnerable to the disease because most were immunized as children, officials said. Most older adults had measles as children and have a natural immunity to the disease.

Dr. Lauri Markowitz, medical epidemiologist at the national Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, said there have been measles outbreaks in recent years at Boston, Villanova and Ohio State universities. The University of Arkansas now has a measles outbreak on campus, she said. Massachusetts, North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have statutes requiring immunization of college students, she said.