Measles is now on Colorado’s Western Slope. The state Department of Public Health and Environment says an adult resident of Archuleta County who has not traveled out of the country recently has contracted the disease.
This is the third case reported in Colorado and one of more than 600 nationwide. Most of those have been in Texas. Two children there have died of complications from the disease.
At Tuesday’s quarterly meeting of the Montezuma County Board of Health, county public health director Bobbi Lock told the commissioners that three or more cases in the same year officially constitute an outbreak.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known but it can be prevented by the MMR vaccine, which Lock said is safe and effective.
Lock said, “If you’re fully vaccinated, the risk [of the disease] is not there.”
Concerns have been raised about delays in reporting possible measles cases. Colorado’s first two cases, which were in Denver and Pueblo counties, were not reported to state officials for more than a week.
Lock told the board of health it’s very important for providers who suspect someone has measles to notify the state right away, rather than wait for testing results to come back, so actions can be taken to minimize the risk of the disease spreading.
The Archuleta County resident was reportedly contagious from March 26 through April 3 and visited:
The Wolf Creek Ski Area from March 28-30;
City Market, 165 Country Center Drive in Pagosa Springs, March 31;
and the Pagosa Medical Group Clinic, 278 Talisman Drive, Unit 3, Pagosa Springs, April 2.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says symptoms – which include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and rash – usually appear 7 to 21 days after exposure.
Adults who have had the disease or have received one or two doses of the MMR vaccines are considered immunized. More information is available on the CDPHE’s website at https://cdphe.colorado.gov/diseases-a-to-z/measles.
Colorado has not had three confirmed cases in the same calendar year in the last 12 years.
The state has the sixth-lowest rate of MMR vaccinations for kindergarteners, according to reporting by the nonprofit Colorado Newsline, with just 83.3 percent of kindergarteners receiving the shot in the 2023-4 school year.
