Health officials confirm 2 new measles cases in Utah, all patients were unvaccinated

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed two new Utah residents have tested positive for measles. This comes after health officials confirmed the state’s first reported measles case in Utah County

on Friday, June 20.

Utah now has a total of three positive measles cases.

Health officials confirm these individuals are adults from different parts of the state. One person is a Utah County resident; the other is from the southwest health district.

Public health investigations are ongoing to identify any locations where possible exposures may have occurred, officials say.

ABC4.com interviewed Utah State Epidemiologist Leisha Nolan about these cases and what they mean for public health in Utah.

Nolan told ABC4 that these new cases have had “limited contact,” but officials are still working to determine if there have been additional exposures through contact tracing. Nolan added that as far as they can tell, the three cases are unrelated.

According to Nolan, the three people with measles limited potential exposure by calling ahead to their medical providers before going in so that they would not be walking into a waiting room and exposing people to the disease.

“It does concern us that there could be additional cases. We suspect that there probably is transmission, and we want people to be aware of that,” she said.

All three people who currently have measles in Utah were not vaccinated against the disease.

“It is notable that all three people who’ve gotten measles in Utah are unvaccinated,” Nolan said. “We do know those are the people most at risk, so this is what we expected, and it reinforces us to tell people to go get vaccines.”

Nolan stated that the number of calls DHHS has gotten about measles and the vaccine has increased since the first case in the state was reported on Friday June 20.

“We know people are interested, and we are really encouraging them to reach out to us, to reach out to their provider, see what protection there is, see if they can get a vaccine, so they can be as safe as possible,” Nolan said.

Babies are unable to be vaccinated for measles until they are one year old, and so babies under one are a high concern for public health officials, Nolan said. Babies also are the ones who have the worst form of the disease.

“We encourage people to protect their babies by protecting everyone around them, and the best way to do that is to get vaccinated and make sure your baby is around people who are vaccinated,” she said.

Measles is also most infectious in the early days of symptoms, when people may not know what they are infected with because the rash distinctive of measles does not show up for several days, Nolan added.

Nolan reminded that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) has been proven safe and effective for decades. She also stressed that measles is not a mild infection. It is serious, and one in 20 kids with measles is hospitalized.

As of June 20, a total of 1,214 confirmed measles cases were reported by 36 jurisdictions across the United States, according to the latest data published by the CDC.

What is measles?

Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads easily through the air through coughing and sneezing. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said those infected won’t see symptoms appear until about a week after infection and common symptoms include high fever, cough and a rash. Measles can cause serious health complications, especially for those who are not protected through the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Measles in Utah

Utah has largely been spared of measles cases in the last 10 years. There have only been five confirmed cases since 2015, including three in 2017. However, Utah has had a couple of scares in recent weeks after a passenger with measles traveled through the Salt Lake International Airport and another potential exposure popped up in southwest Utah.

According to the DHHS, more than 90% of Utahns have been vaccinated against measles and are highly protected against the infection. They add that the most effective prevention against the measles is vaccination.

Kayla Baggerly contributed to this report.