DENVER (KDVR) — An unvaccinated infant under a year old living in Denver County has been infected with measles, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported Monday.
CDPHE, Denver Health and the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment all confirmed the case. The agencies noted that infants normally get their routine dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at 12 to 15 months.
The agencies reported that the infant had recently traveled with family to an area of Chihuahua, Mexico, where there is an ongoing measles outbreak. The agencies said that current evidence does not show the case is linked to Colorado’s other known measles case, which was reported in an adult resident of Pueblo who also had traveled to Mexico.
“Infants under 12 months are especially vulnerable to measles because they are typically too young to be vaccinated. This case is a stark reminder that families traveling internationally should delay unnecessary travel or talk to their health care providers about early MMR vaccination for infants, especially when visiting areas with known measles outbreaks,” said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist and deputy chief medical officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, in the announcement of the infant’s infection.
“We’re incredibly grateful to our partners at Denver Health and the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment for their swift action, expertise, and collaboration in identifying this case and protecting the broader community,” Herlihy added.
The agencies said that anyone who was at the Denver Health emergency department on Bannock Street in Pavilion A on Sunday, April 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., should monitor for symptoms for the next 21 days.
CDPHE said measles symptoms typically take seven to 21 days to develop and include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a characteristic rash that usually starts several days later on the face and spreads.
In February, a Texas child, who was unvaccinated, died of measles, which health officials said was the first death from the illness in about a decade. CDPHE told FOX31 in February that the last confirmed case of measles in the state was reported in December 2023, and that most of the time, measles cases occur in Colorado after travel or in under-vaccinated communities.
About 93.7% of Colorado children have the MMR vaccination, which protects against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella. That’s below the goal threshold of 95% for community immunity.
Two doses of the MMR vaccination are about 97% effective in preventing measles, CDPHE said. The agency also urged families traveling internationally with children too young to be vaccinated to reconsider travel to areas with ongoing measles outbreaks. If the travel cannot be avoided, infants between 6 and 11 months old should receive an early dose of the vaccine before traveling to outbreak areas.
“The MMR vaccine has been available for decades,” CDPHE said.
Coloradans can check their own or their child’s immunization records through the state’s Immunization Information System public portal. If your provider has not reported vaccines, some records may be incomplete.
