Calif. says measles outbreak linked to Disneyland is officially over

California officials said Friday the measles outbreak that disease investigators traced to Disneyland is officially over.

The outbreak began in December, sickening 147 people in seven states — 131 in California — and kick-started a national debate over childhood vaccination.

Officials said no new cases had been reported for the last 42 days, or two successive incubation periods for measles.

“We are pleased this outbreak is over, but caution that measles can be reintroduced in California at any time when an infected person brings it to the state,” said Dr. Karen Smith, director of the California Department of Public Health. “The best defense for protection against the highly infectious measles is vaccination.”

Officials were able to link 42 of the cases to initial exposure at Disneyland and an associated Disney park in Anaheim.

While California is declaring an end to their plight, officials in the Canadian province of Quebec have reported 159 cases linked to the outbreak, particularly among unvaccinated residents of the Lanaudiere region.

The outbreak had frustrated U.S. health officials and experts, who saw an illness that was virtually stamped out come creeping back into American life.

Measles is still common in other parts of the world, so travelers may reintroduce it on U.S. shores, and that’s likely what happened in the Disney case, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The CDC said the majority of people affected by the recent outbreak were not vaccinated, igniting fierce debate around the country about parents who decide not to immunize their children.

Backlash against the “anti-vaxx” movement was strong, as scientists said those who opted out had eroded the herd immunity that’s insulated the U.S. from diseases such as measles.

That was particularly true in left-leaning enclaves in California, where community leaders saw vaccination as unnatural and a health risk being pushed by big pharma.

Several Republican contenders for the 2016 presidential nomination also landed in hot water after they made comments suggesting vaccines are either dangerous or should be optional. The resulting outcry prompted them to clarity their views.

All 50 states have laws requiring vaccines for school students, although exemptions vary from state to state, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Twenty states allow exemptions on philosophical grounds, while West Virginia and Mississippi are the only states that do not permit religious exemptions.

The U.S. experienced 644 measles cases in 27 states in 2014, including one large outbreak among unvaccinated Amish people in Ohio that resulted in 383 cases.