The child infected with measles attended school and could have spread the virus, the Summit County Health Department warns. <\/p>\n
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) An example of a measles virus.<\/p>\n
Summit County health officials announced Saturday they have confirmed the first measles case in the county amid the ongoing national outbreak.<\/p>\n
The patient, an elementary school student, may have exposed other children to the virus when they attended South Summit Elementary School in Kamas on Jan. 5, according to a news release from the Summit County Health Department.<\/p>\n
Officials are working with the South Summit School District to notify parents, faculty and students of possible infections, the news release stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur staff and school district partners have taken proactive measures for months to plan and prepare for our first measles case,\u201d Dr. Phil Bondurant, the county Health Department\u2019s director, said in the news release. \u201cWe encourage residents and their family members who are not already vaccinated against measles to consider the MMR vaccine, which is the most effective way to protect against measles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Someone with measles can spread it to others before even knowing they are infected, according to the news release. People who haven\u2019t received the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine have a 90% chance of getting the disease if they are near an infected person, the news release said.<\/p>\n
A county Health Department spokesperson said the child who was infected was not vaccinated.<\/p>\n
As of Jan. 6, health officials throughout Utah had identified 176 measles cases<\/a> since the beginning of the outbreak, with 51 in the past three weeks, according to Utah\u2019s Department of Health and Human Services. Summit County\u2019s case has not yet been included in the overall count.<\/p>\n The majority of the state\u2019s cases have been in southwest Utah (Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane and Washington counties), where there have been a combined 129 cases, according to Utah health officials.<\/p>\n