There’s another measles case in Colorado, and people who visited Wolf Creek Ski Area may have been exposed

Colorado’s struggle to keep the nation’s widening measles outbreaks from breaching its borders took another hit Tuesday, as officials announced the third new case in nine days.

The new infection was reported in a person in Archuleta County, and the person who was infected did not report having recently traveled outside Colorado. That likely means, for what would be the first time in years, Colorado has seen a confirmed instance of local transmission of measles.

Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said the case is not believed to be connected to two other recently reported cases, one in Pueblo and another in Denver.

“The individual did not travel outside of Colorado, which leaves open the possibility of community transmission,” she said in a statement.

Officials have identified three places where the infected person went while likely contagious, meaning people there may have been exposed to the virus:

• Wolf Creek Ski Area, all day on the dates of Friday, March 28, through Sunday, March 30.
• The Pagosa Medical Group clinic in Pagosa Springs, between 9:05 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. on Monday, March 31, and again between the hours of 3:45 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2.
• The City Market in Pagosa Springs between the hours of 10 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. on Monday, March 31.

People who were at those locations during those times should monitor themselves for symptoms for 21 days and consider avoiding public gatherings during that time. If people do develop symptoms — measles typically starts with a cough, fever, runny nose and/or red eyes, then progresses to the telltale rash that starts on the face and moves downward — they should call their doctor or call a clinic.

Health officials say people who think they may have measles should always call ahead so that medical providers can make plans to keep other patients at the clinic from being exposed.

CDPHE did not immediately provide information on how the infected person in Archuleta County is doing, though it said the person’s window for contagiousness ended on Thursday. The person’s vaccination status is unclear.

Measles is considered a preventable disease because two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective against the measles virus. The disease had once been considered eliminated in the United States, and it has been at least a decade since Colorado last saw three or more cases of measles in a year.

But, with vaccination rates against measles dipping across the country, the U.S. has seen more than 600 cases of measles this year, with more 500 of those in Texas.

Ski resort communities in southwestern Colorado, which see a lot of visitors from Texas, had been worried that spring break travel could bring measles to their towns.

With measles outbreaks currently ongoing not only in Texas but in the surrounding states of New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas — and with the summer travel season approaching — state health officials have been urging people who are unvaccinated or who may need a booster to consider getting the shot.