The ongoing measles outbreak in Mohave County has now led to two hospitalizations, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
There have been 59 measles cases reported in the Colorado City area since mid-August. There were also four measles cases reported earlier this year in Navajo County, bringing this year’s total cases to 63 — the highest count in Arizona since 1991.
One child was hospitalized in connection with the Navajo County cases earlier this year, but until now, no hospitalizations had been reported in connection with the Mohave County cases.
The Mohave County Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to KJZZ’s request for information about the ages or conditions of the two people now reportedly hospitalized.
Measles continues to spread in neighboring communities in Utah, as well. Utah officials have reported 39 recent cases in the southwest part of that state.
Colorado City is a town of about 2,500 people on the Arizona-Utah border. Many residents of the area are members of the Mormon-offshoot polygamist sect known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or FLDS. The community has very low vaccination rates.
One Colorado City elementary school last year reported a kindergarten MMR vaccination rate of just 7% — the lowest rate reported by any school in the state, records from the Arizona Department of Health Services show. The other school in the town reported a 40% kindergarten MMR vaccination rate last year.
But more people in the area are getting vaccinated amid the outbreak. The Mohave Department of Public Health said in a Facebook post that more than 700 MMR vaccines have been administered in the county since the first measles cases there were reported in August.
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known. But the MMR vaccine is highly effective at preventing it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two doses of the vaccine are 97% effective at blocking the virus.
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