SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake County Health Department on Friday confirmed a measles infection in an adult resident — the first lab-confirmed case identified in the county amid a current nationwide outbreak of the disease.
The infected individual is unvaccinated, the department said.
“This case is especially concerning because the source of the patient’s infection is unknown,” Dorothy Adams, executive director of the department, said in a statement. “They have not knowingly had contact with anyone who had measles, which means their infection is the result of transmission somewhere out in the community.”
The health department said epidemiologists are working quickly to notify anyone the patient may have exposed and all personal contacts of the infected individual have already been notified individually.
Additionally, health officials say the patient visited one public location while they were infectious and people who were at the following location during the indicated date and times may have been exposed:
- Taylorsville InstaCare, 3845 W. 4700 South, on Friday, Nov. 7, from 3 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.
Salt Lake County health officials in October identified what they believed was the first case of measles reported in the county, but they were unable to confirm the diagnosis because the patient declined to participate in their investigation.
“The patient has declined to be tested or to fully participate in our disease investigation, so we will not be able to technically confirm the illness or properly do contact tracing to warn anyone with whom the patient may have had contact,” Adams said at the time.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can spread to as many as nine out of 10 unprotected people who are near an infected person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. County officials say two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are the best way to prevent infection and limit the severity of symptoms.
The disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but cases this year have spiked nationwide to the highest level since then. Utah has reported 77 confirmed cases this year, the majority in southwest Utah, according to the state’s Measles Dashboard.
Measles symptoms typically manifest seven to 14 days after infection. They include fever, cough, runny nose and red or watery eyes, according to the department. Patients with measles typically have tiny white spots appear inside their mouth two to three days after symptoms begin and get a rash within three to five days of the first symptoms.
About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who get measles will need hospitalization, according to the department, with young children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems most at risk.
People who suspect they may have been exposed to measles are asked to contact their health care provider immediately.
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