The California Department of Public Health is investigating nine measles cases tied to Disneyland or Disney California Adventure Park, officials said Wednesday. 
 
 The cases were reported in California and Utah and probably occurred when the victims were visiting the theme parks during the holidays from Dec. 15 to Dec. 20, officials said. 
 
 Health officials said it is likely that a single person with measles visited the parks during that period, exposing the other visitors. 
 
 “If you have symptoms, and believe you may have been exposed, please contact your healthcare provider,” state health officer Ron Chapman said in a statement. “The best way to prevent measles and its spread is to get vaccinated.” 
 
 The California cases were discovered in the counties of Alameda, Orange, Riverside and San Diego, as well as the city of Pasadena, and included children as young as 8 months, officials said. Two additional park visitors who were diagnosed as having measles live in Utah. 
 
 Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times Patrons make their way around Disneyland in May 2014. Patrons make their way around Disneyland in May 2014. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 
 
 "We are working with the health department to provide any information and assistance we can, " said Dr. Pamela Hymel, the chief medical officer Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. 
 
 Two of the cases involve members of the same family from San Diego County, according to the county Health and Human Services Agency. 
 
 The two siblings may have later exposed additional people who were at the Parkway Plaza Mall in El Cajon on Dec. 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., especially those who were at the GameStop, the Sunglasses Hut or the carousel in the mall, the agency said. 
 
 Though measles had largely vanished in the United States, and was no longer considered to be a year-round threat, there has been an increase in confirmed cases. 
 
 In California, Orange County led the way last year with 22 of the 62 confirmed cases statewide. The outbreak came on the heels of a tough flu season. 
 
 County health officials expressed concern that the upswing in cases appeared to coincide with a growing anti-vaccine movement. Of the Orange County cases, many were in suburban neighborhoods where some schools showed an elevated rate of parents opting out of having their children vaccinated, or who had slowed down the vaccination process. 
 
 Though rare in the U.S., measles outbreaks continue to be reported in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and western Europe. 
 
 The vaccine, which also defends against mumps and rubella, is recommended to be administered in two doses, the first after a child turns 1, the second usually before kindergarten. 
 
 People can be infectious with measles for nine days. Measles typically begins with a fever, a cough, a runny nose and red eyes and within a few days a red rash appears, usually first on the face and then spreading downward to the rest of the body. 
 
 Measles is a highly infectious, airborne disease that is easily spread by coughing, sneezing or coming in contact with an infected person. 
 
 For more Orange County news, follow @emfoxhall on Twitter. 
 
 Read more: Plunge in kindergartners vaccination rates worries health officials 

 LOS ANGELES Nine cases of measles have been confirmed in people who visited Disneyland or its adjacent California Adventure park in late December, state health officials said on Wednesday, urging anyone who may have been exposed to contact a doctor. 
 
 All nine of the confirmed cases are in people who visited at least one of the two amusement parks in Anaheim between Dec. 15 and Dec. 20, said Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health. 
 
 Chapman said three more suspected cases in people who were at one of the parks during that time frame were under investigation. 
 
 "Based on information from current cases, it is likely that a person infectious with measles was at one of the theme parks on these dates," Chapman said, adding that patients infected with the virus could be infectious for nine days. 
 
 "If you have symptoms, and believe you may have been exposed, please contact your health care provider,” he said. "The best way to prevent measles and its spread is to get vaccinated." 
 
 He said the infected patients ranged in age from 8 months to 21 years and that six were unvaccinated for measles, two of them because they were too young. One of the patients had received the appropriate vaccination 
 
 Measles typically begins with fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes, followed by the appearance of a red rash that typically starts on the face and spreads downward. 
 
 Chapman said seven of the confirmed cases and three of the suspected cases were people living in California. The other two confirmed cases involved Utah residents who visited the amusement parks during the relevant time period. 
 
 Dr. Pamela Hymel, chief medical officer for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement the company was working with the California health department to provide information and assistance. 
 
 Measles is a sometimes deadly viral disease that can spread very swiftly among unvaccinated children. 
 
 There is no specific treatment and most people recover within a few weeks. But in poor and malnourished children and people with reduced immunity, measles can cause serious complications including blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhea, ear infection and pneumonia. 
 
 In 2013, more than 70 percent of global measles deaths were in six countries - India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 
 
 (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Peter Cooney)
– A rare measles outbreak has been traced to Disneyland, and people who visited the Anaheim theme park between Dec. 15 and 20 may have been exposed, health officials in California warn. Nine cases have been confirmed in people ranging in age from 8 months to 21 years, most of whom were unvaccinated, and several more potential cases are being investigated, reports Reuters. People who visited the adjacent California Adventure theme park are also at risk, authorities say, as are those who visited the Parkway Plaza Mall in El Cajon, near San Diego, on Dec. 29. Most of the cases are in California, but two Disneyland visitors from Utah were also infected. "If you have symptoms and believe you may have been exposed, please contact your health care provider," a state health officer says in a statement. "The best way to prevent measles and its spread is to get vaccinated." Measles had almost vanished from the US, but there has been a rise in cases recently, with 62 confirmed cases in California last year, reports the Los Angeles Times. Health officials believe the rise in cases is linked to the anti-vaccination movement.