2 Utah County youths get measles at Disneyland

PROVO — Two Utah County residents came home from a recent Disneyland trip with more than just memories of their family vacation.

The two, reported to be under age 18, were exposed to the measles virus at the amusement park and neighboring Disney California Adventure Park in mid-December. The two had not received measles vaccinations, according to the Utah County Health Department.

"Other family members have been contacted," and so far only the two youths have been confirmed to have the highly infectious, airborne disease, according to Utah County Health Department spokesman Lance Madigan.

Twelve others who may have been exposed are in isolation Wednesday night as health officials try to contain the virus.

"We know that the vaccine is very effective. It is one of our best vaccines," Madigan said. "On the other hand, measles is incredibly contagious, and if you don't get the vaccine, your chances of getting it from an infected person is higher than 95 percent."

Health department officials are asking the public to retrace their steps to determine if they, too, might have been exposed, as the two affected Utah County residents were contagious from Dec. 27 through Jan. 5 and reportedly visited several Provo and Orem locations — including grocery stores, movie theaters, an LDS Church building and two hospitals — during that time.

Madigan said the locations are public places where the chance of transmission may have been high.

The two Utah cases are part of a larger outbreak being investigated in California, where officials have confirmed seven cases and three suspect cases contracted during the same time period between Dec. 15 and Dec. 20 at the Disney theme parks.

Measles has been eradicated in the United States since 2000, but outbreaks have occurred in Western Europe, Pakistan, Vietnam and the Philippines in recent years. The California Department of Public Health declared Wednesday that visitors to Disney parks and other southern California locations may come from parts of the world where measles is endemic, as the area boasts many international attractions.

All confirmed cases and suspect cases visited Disneyland or Disney California Adventure Park in Orange County, California, during the same time period.

The confirmation of the December cases, with patients ranging from ages 5 months of age to 21 years, comes months after the California Department of Public Health declared an end to a previous measles outbreak that infected at least 61 people throughout the southwestern state in early 2014.

Measles has been linked to various birth defects when women contract the illness during pregnancy, and the virus has caused death in some elderly people, but it mostly affects children. It can also cause blindness, Madigan said.

About 4 percent to 5 percent of school children in Utah County have obtained exemptions from receiving one or more vaccinations, authorized out of parental choice or medical necessity. However, Madigan said, the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) is one of the most commonly given there.

In addition to two doses of the MMR vaccine — given at age 1 and again before kindergarten — children headed to school are encouraged to get vaccinated for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, hepatitis A and B, and polio.

An outbreak or epidemic is determined whenever health officials see more cases than is expected, and since measles is so uncommon, even one case pushes it to outbreak status in the state, Madigan said.

A list of locations where the infected individuals have been in Utah County, as well as more information on measles, can be found online at health.utah.gov/measles. The Utah Poison Control Center is helping to screen individuals for potential exposure and can be reached by calling 800-456-7707.

In hopes of containing the local outbreak, public health officials need to know whether people at the specific locations during the specified times have been fully vaccinated.

Individuals exposed but not vaccinated will be asked to quarantine themselves in their homes for 21 days from the date of exposure.

Two doses of the MMR vaccine are required to achieve maximum protection from the measles, according to the health department. The disease can be more severe in pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.

Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose and a rash that spreads all over the body within two weeks of exposure. The virus is transmitted via coughing or sneezing and is highly contagious. The majority of people in close contact with an infectious person will get the disease if they're not immunized.

Vaccines for measles, pertussis and influenza not only protect the individual who receives them, but helps to build community immunity, health officials said. For more information on immunizations, visit www.immunize-utah.org.

Contributing: Devon Dolan

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