Health officials are urging people to protect vulnerable children and those who have compromised immune systems from the measles, following five new cases identified in Fremont County.
The warnings from the Wyoming Department of Health and Fremont County Public Health come after the cases were traced to out-of-state travel.
All of the infected individuals live in Fremont County and were unvaccinated, State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harris told Cowboy State Daily on Friday. None have been hospitalized, so far.
“Measles is one of the most infectious diseases that we know,” Harris said. “It’s what we call an airborne disease, meaning the virus can stay alive in the air for long periods of time. So even if someone has left the room, others can still get measles for up to two hours after that by being in the same room.”
Because of that, measles is considered even more infectious than influenza and COVID, which are also highly infectious diseases.
While the five measles cases were identified in Fremont County residents, the Health Department has highlighted a location in Evanston as a place where members of the general public could have been exposed to measles.
The relevant time period is between 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Flying J Travel Center at 1920 Harrison Drive
Symptoms of measles typically appear seven to 14 days after exposure, and are often similar to the common cold, but more severe.
A few days after the initial symptoms, tiny white spots may appear inside the mouth called Koplik spots. These are a unique indicator for measles.
Around three to five days after initial symptoms, an itchy rash usually develops, starting on the face and behind the ears, but spreading downwards, over the body.
The rash typically looks like flat, red spots with small, raised bumps that may merge. Anyone with such symptoms should contact their health care provider immediately.
While in this case, no one was hospitalized, Harris said measles can cause serious health complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), severe lung infections, hospitalizations, and even death.
“About one in every five kids less than 5 years old who gets measles is being hospitalized in the U.S.,” Harris said. “It’s also important to note that some people, including infants less than 1 years old, are too young to be vaccinated, and they are really susceptible to severe illness. So, when we protect ourselves against measles, we’re also protecting those babies who can’t get vaccinated, and we’re protecting those people who may have compromised immune systems for a variety of reasons.”
Part Of National Outbreak That Started In Texas
Wyoming has reported 14 measles cases this year and is one of 42 states nationwide that have reported measles cases this year. The national outbreak of nearly 2,000 cases so far has been traced back to cases in west Texas, in a close-knit, low-vaccination community in Gaines County.
Measles had been declared “eliminated” in 2000, terminology that means there is no longer any sustained spread of the disease, thanks to what is known as “herd immunity.”
That refers to the situation where enough people are vaccinated in a given community that the virus essentially has nowhere to go to cause new infections.
That’s a situation that Harris said appears to be changing.
“We’ve seen that with widespread vaccination, I mean, for Wyoming, it’s been 15 years since we’ve had any measles in Wyoming and actually 25 years since we’ve seen measles actually spread in Wyoming,” she said. “The vaccine is a really effective way to prevent people from getting sick and prevent people from developing potentially severe consequences of measles infection.”
Safety Has Been Well-Documented
It is untrue that the vaccine never went through clinical trials, Harris added.
“When the measles vaccine first came out in the 60s, it was tested in clinical trials,” she said. “You can find those trials online. It’s been published in scientific literature, and it’s been extensively studied since then as well. All of that is in the scientific literature.”
Large studies have been done looking for links between the MMR vaccine and autism.
“The rates of autism for kids who get the MMR vaccine and those who don’t are the same,” she said. “It has been extensively studied. We certainly understand the concern of autism and that people want to understand the cause of autism. That’s a pretty worthy cause. But the MMR vaccine has been extensively studied and has been shown not to be a cause.”
The vaccine has a good track record over the past 50 years, Harris said.
“The vaccine is safe and very effective against this disease,” she said. “A disease that can be severe and is very, very infectious.”
Measles Can Re-Emerge After Natural Infections
Thanks to limited public exposure in this particular case, Harris is hopeful that this particular outbreak won’t spread any further than it already has.
Steps are being taken to monitor the situation, as well as limit further exposure.
“But I think in general, seeing the high number of cases in the United States that we’ve really seen all of 2025, the more measles spread in this country, the more risk for infections,” Harris said. “So, the risk is there, and it is higher than it used to be. We may see more measles cases in Wyoming.”
Immunity from the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which is typically given at 1 year of age and then at 4 years of age, is an especially long-lasting immunization, Harris said. Adults who received both of those doses do not need a booster shot.
“Some adults, potentially older adults, may have only gotten one dose,” she said. “If those adults are traveling internationally or working in health care, they might want to seek out a second dose. But for those who received two doses in childhood, they don’t need anything additional.”
Vitamin A doesn’t prevent measles infections but is sometimes used as part of a regimen of treatment after an infection in third-world countries where malnutrition is an issue. The effectiveness of Vitamin A is limited in cases where nutritional deficiency is absent. Masks are not typically that effective for measles, given the length of time it lasts and the fact that it is an airborne virus, Harris said.
“It’s different from something like flu, where you really need that kind of close contact, or a lot of those salivary exposures,” she said. “Vaccination is really the best way to protect yourself.”
The vaccinations do use an attenuated live virus, Harris acknowledged. However, the virus has been weakened so that it is incapable of replication and thus infecting anyone else.
The measles virus, similar to chickenpox, can re-emerge many years later as a new infection, though it’s a rarer condition than chickenpox-caused shingles, which is a painfully debilitating disease that may also be prevented with a vaccine.
The later, secondary emergence of measles is called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. It is a progressive, fatal brain disorder that causes neurological decline and death.
Onset is typically from six to 15 years after the original measles illness. Symptoms include personality changes, deteriorating school performance, seizures and mental deterioration.
“I want to emphasize that it is very, very rare,” Harris said. “California did report a case of it this year, with an infant who was too young to be vaccinated and got measles and then, years later, unfortunately, passed away from this condition. So, it’s possible, but not nearly as common as shingles. But we have basically seen that condition go away, once we started vaccinating for measles.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
