HUERFANO COUNTY, Colo. — Motel guests and shoppers at a country store in Huerfano County may have been exposed to measles and should monitor for symptoms for the next three weeks, state health officials said Thursday.
People who stayed at the Ranch House Inn, located at 1012 Cherry Street in La Veta from Sunday, Oct. 12 to Wednesday, Oct. 15; as well as shoppers who went to the La Veta Country Store on 200 N. Main St. on Monday, Oct. 13, between 8 and 11 a.m., may have been exposed to the highly contagious disease, according to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE).
The health alert was issued after officials from both the CDPHE and the Las Animas-Huerfano Counties District Health Department confirmed a measles case in an out-of-state tourist who visited the southern Colorado county within the past week, state health officials said in a news release.
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.
In this latest exposure, state health officials said those who were potentially exposed may develop symptoms through Monday, Nov. 3 and Wednesday, Nov. 5.
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.
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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. 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 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.
So far this year, Colorado has confirmed 31 cases of the virus in Adams (4), Arapahoe (5), Archuleta (1), Boulder (1), Denver (4), El Paso (4), Mesa (11), and Pueblo (1) counties. Most have been in unvaccinated individuals.
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