Colorado officials have confirmed the first case of measles in a state resident in five years.
The patient, a teenager who had traveled abroad, returned to Denver International Airport on Dec. 13, the state health department said. This is the first confirmed case of measles in a Colorado resident since January 2019.
Health officials said they did not know if the child had been vaccinated.
Measles is highly contagious to unvaccinated people. The virus spreads through the air and can stay airborne for up to two hours. Symptoms, including fever, cough, and runny nose, begin a week or two after a person is exposed, although they can last up to three weeks. Two days after the first symptoms appear, people usually develop a rash that starts at the hairline and spreads throughout the body.
State health officials are warning unvaccinated people at Denver International Airport from 4:30-8 p.m. Dec. 13 or at Children’s Hospital Colorado Emergency Department on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora from 8:30-11 a.m. Monday. The hospital plans to notify patients and families in the same area at the same time.
“Anyone with symptoms of measles should stay home unless they need treatment,” Colorado State Epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said in an emailed news release. “People with signs and symptoms of measles should not go to childcare facilities, school, work or other public places to avoid exposing others to this very serious and highly contagious disease.”
Measles is a serious infection that can cause complications including seizures, brain damage, ear infections, pneumonia, and death. Health officials say infection can be prevented if people receive the measles vaccine within 72 hours of exposure.
People can check their child’s immunization status through Colorado. Online vaccine database.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. as long as 90% of people People who are unvaccinated or otherwise immune can get measles if they come in close contact with an infected person, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is estimated to be four to six times more contagious than the original version of the Covid-19 virus.
However, vaccination can greatly reduce transmission. A two-dose series of MMR measles vaccine is 97% effective in preventing infection, while a single dose is 93% effective. According to the CDC.
Colorado has struggled to maintain high vaccination rates for measles. Last year, 86.8% of kindergarteners in the state were vaccinated against measles, the lowest rate since 2017. In some schools, the percentage was as low as 20 percent.
For so-called “herd protection”—the amount of vaccine needed to protect the unvaccinated from an outbreak—measles requires a vaccination rate of 95% or higher. That means there are growing pockets of children in Colorado who could be at risk for a measles outbreak if an infection pops up in the wrong place.