Although Penn State has not been affected by the recent measles outbreak across the nation, University Health Service officials said students should check their vaccination records to insure they have been properly vaccinated.

The National Center for Disease Control has recommended anyone under the age of 32 check their vaccination records due to recent outbreaks of measles, said Dr. Floyd Naugle, associate director of University Health Services.

According to figures from the Center for Disease Control, measles cases have increased nationally from 1,589 last year to 7,563 as of July 9.

People under the age of 32 may have been ineffectively vaccinated for two reasons, Naugle said. People born after 1967 should check to make sure they were vaccinated after the age of 15 months or they could be susceptible to measles, Naugle said.

People aged 23 to about 32 were probably vaccinated by an ineffective vaccine, Naugle said.

"The effective vaccine did not really come out until 1967," Naugle said.

People older than 32 - born before the vaccines were developed - have been exposed to the virus and have developed antibodies, Naugle said.

Only 272 measles cases have been reported in Pennsylvania compared to 519 in the first six months last year, according to the Associated Press.

The University has followed Pennsylvania's trend.

Ritenour Health Center treated one case of measles at University Park this year as of July 20, 1989, said Dr. Harry McDermott, director of University Health Services. No more than 3 to 4 cases have been treated each year of the last few years, McDermott added.

McDermott said a measles epidemic at the Delaware Campus this year led him to form a committee to initiate a policy requiring student proof of proper immunization.

The 1990 freshman are the targeted group to be required to provide more stringent proof of proper vaccination, McDermott said.

Measles can be fatal in extremely rare cases when it becomes measles encephalitis, an inflammation of the tissues of the brain and spinal cord.

Katie White, secretary for Emergency Services a Centre County Community Hospital, said the hospital kept no records of the number of measles cases this year.