A young Montezuma County resident has come down with measles. This is the second case of measles in the county this year. The child, who is not of school age, was not vaccinated, according to the county’s public information officer, Vicki Shaffer.
The first case occurred in early November in a school-aged youngster who also was not vaccinated and had traveled to a place outside Colorado where an outbreak was going on. However, this one reportedly involves someone who has not traveled outside the state.
Neither child has been hospitalized, according to Shaffer.
“The lack of a clear source of infection suggests that unidentified measles cases may be occurring in or traveling through the Cortez area,” Shaffer said in a press release. “Montezuma County Public Health is investigating the case.”
Measles, which is spread by coughing or sneezing, is one of the most easily transmitted diseases in the world.
According to the press release, anyone who was at Cold Stone Creamery, 215 S. Sligo, in Cortez on Wednesday, Nov. 26, between 3:30 and 6 p.m. may have been exposed to it. Symptoms could develop through Dec 17.
Montezuma County’s two cases are among 33 that occurred in Colorado this year, according to the state Department of Public Health and Environment’s website. The county with the most cases was Mesa, also on the Western Slope, with 11.
Five of the people in Colorado who had measles were hospitalized, but none have died of the disease. The majority of cases, 20, were in people 18 or older.
