Health Department Warn Of Possible Measles Exposure In Colorado

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The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment warns the public as to the possibility of measles as a person diagnosed with the condition recently visited several locations in Boulder and around the Denver metro area.

The state health department said the unnamed patient, was an unvaccinated international traveler who contracted measles and was possibly contagious from December 21 to 29, 2016.  He was hospitalized for three days at Parker Adventist Hospital on December 29.

The patient reported being at several locations in Boulder during the period including Falafel King, 1314 Pearl St., T-Mobile, 1590 28th St., uBreakiFix, 1136 Spruce St. and Rebecca's Apothecary, 1227 Spruce St.

He added that he visited Alfalfa's Market at 785 E. South Boulder road in Louisville and the FlatIrons Crossing mall in Broomfield, with other locations in Aurora, Centennial, Denver, Englewood and Parker, according to the Longmont Times.

Health officials said anyone who was at any of the aforementioned locations on those dates should keep a close watch for signs and symptoms of measles, which manifest between seven and 14 days after exposure and may take up to 21 days.

The symptoms may include fever, runny nose, red eyes and coughing. Red rash appears on the face and spreads to other parts of the body two to four days after the first symptoms. Persons with measles are advised to stay in isolation as it is a highly contagious air borne disease (can be transmitted through the air by breathing, sneezing or coughing).

They should contact their doctors and inquire about the symptoms over the phone at first, to avoid infecting people when walking into the hospital. The doctor should meet with affected patients outside the medical office so as to protect other patients and visitors.

Although, healthy, vaccinated adults are not at great risk of contracting measles, it can be very critical for infants that are too young to be vaccinated, people with weak immune systems and those who are not vaccinated.

It can cause serious complications such as pneumonia and swelling of the brain. Children should be vaccinated as early as 6 months after birth and two additional doses before age 6 for immunity, according to The Denver Post

Measles is rare in the United States and was declared officially eliminated, but cases of person who contracted it overseas occasionally spread outbreaks among people that are not vaccinated. There were fewer than 200 cases of measles reported across the country in 2013 and 2015, but a swelling number of 667 reported cases of in 2014. There was only one reported case of measles in Colorado in 2015 and one in 2016.