DENVER — Colorado health officials are asking anyone who may have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Pueblo to monitor for measles symptoms for the next three weeks after an out-of-state traveler infected with the virus spent the night there in early May.
The potential measles exposure happened at the Holiday Inn Express, located at 4530 Dillon Drive in Pueblo, between Friday, May 9 at 10 p.m. through Saturday, May 10 at noon. State health officials said the individual may have also exposed people at the hotel lobby from 10 p.m. to midnight on May 9 and the hotel’s breakfast area on May 10 from 9:15 a.m. to noon.
In a news release Wednesday, officials with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) said they were made aware of the case after the individual tested positive for measles in their home state and the case investigation revealed the hotel stay in Colorado.
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.
People who were at the hotel and develop symptoms should immediately call their health care provider before trying to seek treatment to avoid other people from becoming potentially infected with the virus, state health officials said, adding that people without a health care provider should call an urgent care center or emergency department and explain that they may have been exposed to measles.
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.
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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.
A single dose of the MMR vaccine confers 93% protection against measles, while a second one ups that number to 97%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In rare cases, about 3 out of every 100 people vaccinated against the virus can get a breakthrough case, but vaccinated individuals will usually develop milder symptoms and are less likely to spread it to others, state health officials said.
People who have received the full series of the MMR shot don’t need another one after exposure to the virus, though people who received a measles vaccine 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. Unvaccinated people exposed to the virus can get the MMR vaccine 72 hours after exposure (but before symptoms are present) to prevent an infection.
So far this year, Colorado has reported five measles cases amid a multi-state outbreak in the U.S.: Three in Denver, and one each in Pueblo and Pagosa Springs.
As of last Friday, the CDC had confirmed a total of 1,024 measles cases — the second worst year since the disease was eliminated 25 years ago. Two children and one adult have died in the current nationwide outbreak; none were vaccinated against measles.
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