WELD COUNTY, Colo. — Health officials have confirmed a case of measles in an unvaccinated adult in Weld County.
Officials do not believe the case is related to the ongoing outbreak tied to Broomfield High School, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said in a Wednesday release. This is the second confirmed measles case in the county this year and the 12th in the state, according to CDPHE measles data. Ten of those cases have been this month.
The infected adult had traveled to another state where there was an outbreak, according to the announcement. They were hospitalized and have since been discharged.
People in two parts of Loveland's UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies, located at 2500 Rocky Mountain Ave., could have been exposed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Here's where and when officials believe there was a risk for exposure:
- UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies Emergency Department on Tuesday, March 17 from 5:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies Outpatient Pharmacy on Wednesday, March 18 from 11:25 a.m. to 1:25 p.m.
CDPHE will add exposure locations to the list as they are identified, the release said.
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, health officials said in the release. Symptoms could develop through April 8, the release said.
Measles symptoms typically begin with a fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes followed by a rash that starts on the face and then spreads.
Anyone who was at an exposure location and develops symptoms should call their local public health agency or CDPHE at 720-653-3369. Those who think they might have measles and need medical treatment should call ahead to tell their provider, urgent care or emergency room that they may have been exposed to prevent further spread, health officials said in the release.
- Denver7 has been closely following confirmed cases of measles in Colorado since the number of cases exploded last year amid a multi-state outbreak in the U.S. Explore the map below to see where cases have popped up in 2026:
Unvaccinated people exposed to the virus can get the MMR vaccine 72 hours after exposure (but before symptoms present) to prevent an infection, according to health officials. That means getting the vaccine no later than 8 p.m. on March 20, officials said in the release. Immunoglobulin (IG), if administered within six days of exposure, may also be used in some circumstances, they added.
While the two-dose series of the MMR vaccine has a 97% efficacy rate against infection, about 3 in every 100 people can still get infected if exposed to the virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (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.
As of Wednesday, Colorado has reported cases of the virus in Weld (2), Adams (5), Arapahoe (1) and Broomfield (4) counties. The state saw between zero and two cases each year from 2014-2024. Last year, Colorado reported 36 measles cases amid a multi-state outbreak of the virus in the U.S.
Across the country, the number of confirmed measles infections has already topped 1,300.
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