In southern Utah, a measles outbreak that’s been simmering since last summer is showing signs of wider spread. Now, state health officials are pleading with residents to take the virus seriously.
“It is not a mild infection. It is not a mild virus. It is severe illness,” Utah’s state epidemiologist, Dr. Leisha Nolen, said at a news briefing Thursday.
She’s hearing from people sick with the virus, as well as their caregivers, that “measles is so much worse than what they expected.”
“A number of them clearly said if they had known, they would have vaccinated themselves and their children against measles, but they didn’t realize how bad it was,” Nolen said.
As of Friday, Utah had 358 cases in the outbreak, which began last June. It wasn’t until August, however, that the outbreak took off. Most cases have been concentrated in the southwestern part of the state, linked specifically to a tight-knit community that borders Arizona. It’s largely composed of mostly former members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a sect of the Mormon church.
The outbreak has since expanded north to areas in and around Salt Lake City, particularly following large school athletic events.
This week, the TriCounty Health Department, which encompasses three counties in the northeastern part of the state, reported five measles cases. All patients had been exposed at a state wrestling tournament that was held three weeks ago, Feb. 13-14. It can take 21 days to develop symptoms of measles after an exposure.
Statewide, Nolen said that more than 120 people have gone to the emergency room over the course of the outbreak. Thirty-one people were hospitalized for at least one night, and three people were placed in the intensive care unit.
Nurse practitioner Amanda Jocelyn has seen more than a dozen measles cases in her practice in the southern part of the state.
“The children I am seeing in clinic with measles are very, very ill. And in several cases, their parents and their caregivers get ill as well,” Jocelyn said at Thursday’s briefing.
One person, she said, experienced what’s known as an aplastic crisis, which is “when the bone marrow shuts down red blood cell production and the body becomes extremely anemic.”
Another, an otherwise healthy young mother, Jocelyn said, was admitted to the intensive care unit with measles-induced hepatitis. Her liver had become severely inflamed.
As of Friday, the U.S. has logged 1,281 measles cases since Jan. 1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s more than half of the total number of cases reported last year: 2,283.
Thirty states have reported outbreaks in 2026. The vast majority of cases are in kids and teenagers who have not received a measles vaccine. Twenty-three percent of cases have occurred in children younger than 5 years old, while older kids ages 5 through 19 account for 54% of cases, the CDC said. Ninety-three percent of people were unvaccinated.
As vaccine rates rise, outbreaks slow
In South Carolina, the site of the nation’s largest measles outbreak in a generation, cases finally appear to be slowing. In the past week, the state only logged an additional six cases, bringing the total to 991.
During her weekly news briefing on Wednesday — the 23rd since the outbreak began last fall — state epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said residents have stepped up to get vaccinated.
In Spartanburg County, where the outbreak is concentrated, measles vaccinations were up 70% in February compared to the same time last year.
Measles-mumps-rubella vaccines, given in two doses around a child’s first and fifth birthdays, provide 97% protection against the virus. That protection usually lasts a lifetime.
During outbreaks, babies 6 to 11 months old can be given an early extra shot. Since the outbreak began last fall, Bell said, more than 4,800 MMR doses have been given in this age group.
“The reason for that recommendation is because of serious complications that can occur in young children, for example, pneumonia,” Bell said. “That’s the leading cause of death for measles in children under the age of 5.”
As soon as next week, three CDC epidemic intelligence officers will arrive in South Carolina to help analyze the massive amount of data the state has collected from the outbreak, Bell said. The goal is to have a better understanding of how the virus spreads in schools and the community, as well as how many people exposed to the virus ultimately get sick.
It’s the first time that the state has requested this type of help from the CDC, she said.
While the South Carolina outbreak appears to be dwindling in cases, Bell said that she and her team remain on guard.
“Given the surge in cases we saw following the Christmas holidays, we remain concerned that another surge could occur following spring break,” she said.
Measles infections usually start with symptoms similar to the flu or other common viruses: headache, fever, cough and runny nose. Jocelyn said that her measles patients had fevers up to 105 that lasted up to a week, accompanied by severe coughing.
Within days, patients tend to develop red, watery eyes and tiny white spots inside the mouth.
People who have measles are highly contagious during this phase, up to four days before the telltale splotchy red rash appears on the scalp, neck, trunk, arms and legs.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
