A case of measles, the third in Colorado this year, has been confirmed in an adult male resident of Archuleta County, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The county’s public health department is asking anyone who may have been exposed to self-monitor for symptoms, which include fever, cough and itchy/red/watery eyes, followed by a rash that spreads from the head to the body.
“Some of the symptoms are similar to allergies, so the bumps are key,” said Ashley Springer, spokeswoman for the Archuleta County Public Health Department.
Anyone who visited any of the following locations in late March or early April may have been exposed:
- Wolf Creek Ski Area: March 28-30 (any time of day).
- City Market at 165 Country Center Drive in Pagosa Springs: 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Monday, March 31.
- Pagosa Medical Group: 9:05 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Monday, March 31, and 3:45 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 2.
Health officials said they will update potential exposure locations as necessary.
Public health officials are urging anyone who may have been exposed and develops symptoms to call a health facility before they show up in order to curb transmission. A measles patient is infectious four days before bumps appear on the face until four days after symptoms subside, Springer said.
The Archuelta County patient was at home resting Wednesday and is almost fully recovered, according to Springer. His vaccination status is still unknown and will not be released.
Measles is highly contagious and often severe.
Springer said the department, alongside Silver Thread Public Health District, which has jurisdiction in Mineral County where Wolf Creek is located, is working to contact people who may have been exposed. The departments are calling employees of both the City Market and Wolf Creek who may have been exposed.
ACPHD, which split from the shared health district it once shared with La Plata County at the end of 2023, has nine staff and six or seven people focusing on the outbreak.
This is the third confirmed measles case this year in Colorado and comes amid an outbreak in neighbor states. Nationwide, there have been over 600 measles cases this year and two deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Besides Colorado, measles cases have been confirmed in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington.
Based on current information, it is not believed to be linked to the previous cases reported in Pueblo and Denver counties, officials said.
“The (Archuleta County) individual did not travel outside of Colorado, which leaves open the possibility of community transmission,” Dr. Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist and deputy chief medical officer at the CDPHE said in a news release. “We urge Coloradans to monitor for symptoms if they may have been exposed, and to make sure they are up to date on their MMR vaccinations.”
Just over 88% of students in Archuleta County School District 50-JT are fully immunized with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. Vaccination rates for MMR, a disease once considered eradicated, have fallen nationwide, including in Colorado. A vaccination rate around 93% is considered to be the community immunity threshold for measles.
The MMR vaccine remains the best protection, with two doses providing about 97% effectiveness.
According to the CDPHE, people born before 1957 are likely to have been infected and are presumed to be protected against measles, mumps and rubella. Most adults born during or after 1957 who have received at least one dose of live measles virus-containing vaccine (MMR) on or after their first birthday should be protected against measles unless they fall into a high-risk category. Adults vaccinated from 1963 through 1967 with either inactivated (killed) measles vaccine or measles vaccine of unknown type should be revaccinated with at least one dose of live, attenuated measles vaccine (MMR).
Anyone who may have been exposed should monitor for symptoms for 21 days after exposure and consider avoiding public gatherings or high-risk settings. That is especially true for those who are unvaccinated, according to the release.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
