SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Public health officials are investigating the case of a young adult female who visited Utah while ill with measles.
The unimmunized woman arrived at the Salt Lake City International Airport on a Delta Air Lines flight from Paris on July 20th along with five family members. The young woman traveled with her family to various places in Utah, including Torrey, Moab, Arches, Canyonlands, Bluff, Monument Valley and surrounding areas. She became ill on July 26th in Page, Arizona. The womans father, also unimmunized, has since become ill and is being tested for measles.
The first symptoms of measles resemble a cold and appear about 10 to 12 days after exposure to the virus. Symptoms include a fever of 103°to 105°, a runny nose, and red, watery eyes. A rash usually begins a few days later and lasts about five to six days. It typically starts around the ears and hairline and spreads to the face, trunk and arms. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms and were at a location where this woman and her family traveled, please seek medical attention.
Since 2003, Utah has only seen one case of measles and that was in 2005.
Measles is caused by a virus and is a very infectious disease that can be particularly serious in infants and adults. Although the illness only lasts one to two weeks, it can cause serious complications such as pneumonia, ear infections and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). People infected with measles can spread the disease from four days before, to four days after the rash appears.
Anyone who has never received the measles vaccine or has not had measles is at risk of becoming infected. Two doses of the measles vaccine are recommended for children at 12 months of age and again at four to six years of age. The measles vaccine is also recommended for other groups, such as healthcare workers, international travelers, people born after 1957 and anyone with no previous history of vaccination or disease.
For more information about measles or the measles vaccine, contact your Local Health Department or the Utah Department of Health Bureau of Epidemiology at 801-538-6191 or the Immunization Hotline at 1-800-275-0659.
----Information from: Utah Department of Health
