Health officials concerned measles cases could go up as school starts

Aug 16, 2025, 10:47 AM

As Utah schools get back in session, health officials are concerned that the number of measles case...

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KSLNewsRadio

SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah schools get back in session, health officials are concerned that the number of measles cases could go up.

The Utah Department of Health’s latest report shows 11 Utahns have been diagnosed with measles this year. Salt Lake County Health Department Communication Director Nicholas Rupp says they are concerned the virus may spread to other counties.

“We know that illnesses, viruses, bacteria, they don’t stay within geographic boundaries. They can transmit where people travel,” Rupp said. “So of course we in Salt Lake county are watching closely everything that is going on in our neighbor counties.”

While the number of cases have stayed the same for nearly a month, Rupp said cases could go up as Utahns come back from vacation and head back to school.

“Even though we’ve only had 11 cases in the state so far there are cases in surrounding states,” Rupp said. “And if people are continuing to travel before Labor Day they could bring in additional cases through their travel.”

More about Measles

Rupp says measles includes flu or cold like symptoms followed by a rash on the forehead that moves down the body. It could take three full weeks for symptoms to manifest. But Rupp says by the time you see the rash you’ve already been contagious, possibly for weeks.

Rupp says measles is extremely contagious, and that it will stay in a room for hours after an infected person has left, potentially exposing people without their knowledge.

What to do

Rupp says the best way to protect yourself from the virus is to get vaccinated. In just two doses of the MMR vaccine a person is 97% protected if exposed to the virus.

People who are not vaccinated and are exposed to the virus will need to quarantine for 21 days.

“If you are exposed to measles in a school setting and you are not vaccinated you will need to be quarantined at home while we wait to see if you get the illness,” said Rupp.

Rupp urges parents to make sure their kids are up to date with vaccines before sending them back to school.

He says getting measles can be very serious and isn’t a simple, easy childhood illness. It could cause neurological problems, pneumonia and even death.

“Many, many people died of the measles before we had the vaccine available,” Rupp said. “We still have that vaccine we can protect ourselves without that risk.”

Diana Jones also contributed to this story.

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Health officials concerned measles cases could go up as school starts

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