School districts in Montezuma County fall below the state threshold of 95% for their measles, mumps and rubella immunization levels, and is considered ‘at-risk’ for a measles outbreak.
School districts’ MMR immunization levels in Montezuma County range from 87% to 93%:
- Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1: 92.1%
- Mancos School District RE-6: 87.1%
- Dolores School District RE-4A: 92.9%
North of Montezuma County, the Dolores County School District RE-2 is ranked fourth-worst in the state for its immunization level of 74.9%. To the east, the Durango School District 9-R is at 94%, according to an interactive CDPHE map.
Records in the Colorado Immunization Information System “only go back so far,” and the county’s system didn’t become active until early 2000, which is why there’s not an accurate adult count, said Julie Jacobsen, a nurse at the Montezuma County Public Health Department.
On March 31, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment confirmed a case of measles “in an unvaccinated adult” in Pueblo, according to its website.
“The individual recently traveled to an area of Mexico experiencing an ongoing measles outbreak,” the report said.
Because there’s only one case in Colorado as of April 3, it’s not considered an outbreak.
“Three cases of measles would be considered an outbreak,” said Jacobsen.
Since 2014, there’s been six cases of measles in the state. Before this year, the most recent case was reported in 2023.
Zooming out, as of March 27, there’s 483 confirmed cases in 20 states, according the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
The majority of those cases – 467, or 97% of them – are in Kansas, New Mexico and Texas, which surround Colorado, said Sarah Bonar, a media relations specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Bonar highlighted that, so far:
- 97% of the cases have been individuals who are unvaccinated or with an “unknown” vaccination status.
- 33% of cases have been children and infants underage 5.
- 42% of cases have been children 5 to 19 years old.
“As with most measles outbreaks, the majority of cases have been in children, and the majority of hospitalizations due to measles have been pediatric,” said Bonar.
“Measles is one of the most contagious diseases on the planet,” Bonar said. “It’s so contagious that if one person has it, 90% of people exposed to that person who are not immune will also become infected.”
The CDPHE website said that people usually develop symptoms “seven to 21 days after exposure.”
“Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a characteristic rash that usually starts several days later on the face and spreads,” it said.
The virus is airborne and “can remain in a closed setting up to two hours after an infected person has occupied the area,” said Jacobsen.
The best protection against measles is the MMR vaccination, she said.
“One dose delivers 93% protection. Two doses provide 97% protection,” said Jacobsen.
People born before 1957 “are generally considered immune” and do not need to be vaccinated, the CDPHE site said.
Adults vaccinated before 1968, between 1963 and 1967, received either an inactivated or unknown vaccine, said Jacobsen.
“There is no recommendation for adults born between 1968 and 1989, who likely received just one dose of the measles vaccine,” Jacobsen said. “A second dose of MMR is recommended if you work in health care, attend school/college setting, or plan to travel internationally.”
“If an adult is unsure of their MMR vaccination history, there is no harm in getting a dose of MMR vaccine even if you may be immune already,” she said.
Children should get two doses of the MMR vaccine, with the first dose at 12 to 15 months old, and the second at four to six years old.
The MMR vaccine is available at the Montezuma County Public Health Department and the Southwest Memorial Hospital outpatient pharmacy in Cortez.
“Any community in Colorado that is not vaccinated to a rate that will provide herd immunity (greater than 95%), remains at risk of an outbreak,” said Bonar in an email.
