DENVER — The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) on Monday announced two additional cases of measles, bringing the state's total to 14 cases so far this year.
The first case involves an El Paso County child under 5 years old who recently traveled with family to Ontario, Canada, where a measles outbreak is ongoing. CDPHE said the child was vaccinated with one dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
The second case is an unvaccinated Arapahoe County adult who contracted the virus from an infected individual at Denver International Airport. According to CDPHE, the patient was at DIA on Tuesday, May 13, during the exposure period of an out-of-state traveler who flew while infectious.
In a news release Monday, CDPHE said people may have been exposed to measles at the following locations in connection with these two cases:
DIA outbreak expands
As of Monday, eight of the state's 14 cases have been tied to the unvaccinated traveler, who was a passenger on Turkish Airlines flight 201, which arrived at DIA on May 13. Four of those eight cases were passengers on the flight, while the other four were at the airport when they were exposed.
The growing outbreak at DIA, along with others at airports across the nation, has prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to now recommend that all U.S. travelers going to any international destination be fully vaccinated against measles following dozens of reports of travelers who were contagious while flying into the country.
What to do if you believe you were exposed
Anyone who believes they may have been exposed, especially those who have not been vaccinated with the MMR vaccine, should monitor for symptoms for 21 days and avoid public gatherings or high-risk settings, health officials said in the news release.
Symptoms to watch out for include anything from a fever, a cough, a runny nose, and red, watery eyes that develop into a rash that starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body about three to five days after symptoms first start. A person with measles is contagious four days before and four days after the rash appears.
While most people recover within two or three weeks after contracting the virus, unvaccinated people run the risk of complications from the disease, including ear infections, seizures, pneumonia, immune amnesia, brain damage and ultimately, death.
Measles only spreads from people who show symptoms; it does not spread from people who aren’t feeling sick, state health officials said.
Unvaccinated people exposed to the virus can get the MMR vaccine 72 hours after exposure (but before symptoms are present) to prevent an infection, according to health officials.
Denver7 has been closely following confirmed cases of measles in Colorado amid a multi-state outbreak of the virus in the U.S. this year. Check out some related stories in the links below.
- Colorado health officials address use of vitamin A after state reports first case of measles amid US outbreak
- Colorado health officials recognize 'challenging' reporting delays as number of measles cases tick up
- Colorado pediatrician shares how to protect children amid rise in measles cases
While the two-dose series of the MMR vaccine has a 97% efficacy rate against infection, about three in every 100 people can still get infected if exposed to the virus, according to the CDC. Vaccinated individuals will usually develop milder symptoms and are less likely to spread it to others, according to state health officials.
People who got vaccinated against measles before 1968 should talk to their health care provider about possibly getting a booster, as the vaccine used before that year wasn't as effective.
Colorado hasn't seen this many measles cases since 1996, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 7 cases across the state.
The remaining 12 measles cases across the state this year have been confirmed in Arapahoe County (3), Denver (4), El Paso County (3), and one each in Pueblo and Pagosa Springs.
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