CDC: California Measles Outbreak Matches Philippines Strain

Health officials are genetically linking the recent Disneyland measles outbreak to a similar outbreak in the Philippines that is currently circulating the Asian country.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement this week that it is likely an overseas visitor spread the contagious disease to others while visiting Disneyland over winter break in December.

The disease has now spread to 119 cases in California alone, with a 141 cases in a total of 17 states.

According to the CDC, samples of the virus taken by those infected in the U.S. show that the measles are of genotype B3, making this strain of the virus identical to the one currently circulating the Philippines.

The genotype B3 virus has also been detected in several other countries throughout the world.

In reference to the measles genotype, Melissa Stockwell, an assistant professor of pediatrics and population family health at Columbia University Medical Center, told CBS News that "It's basically a fingerprint of the virus."

As the virus continues to spread, the CDC and other health officials are advising parents to have their children vaccinated. President Barack Obama also issued a statement last month encouraging parents to trust the measles vaccine.

"You should get your kids vaccinated," the president said in a January interview with NBC News.

"I understand that there are families that, in some cases, are concerned about the effect of vaccinations," Obama said. "The science is, you know, pretty indisputable."

The virus has also spread easily in daycare centers, as a Chicago Kindercare center recently confirmed two cases of the virus that had spread among infants too young to receive the vaccine.