Colorado confirms 3 more infections in airport-linked measles outbreak

The Colorado Department of Public Health (CDPH) and their partners in El Paso and Arapahoe counties have reported three more measles cases linked to exposure at Denver International Airport and on a Turkish Airlines flight, raising the outbreak total to six.

In a statement, the CDPH said the three new cases include two unrelated unvaccinated adults from El Paso County who were at the airport around the same time on May 14. The third is a vaccinated adult from Arapahoe County who arrived at the airport on a Turkish Airlines flight on May 13. The first patient in the outbreak is an out-of-state resident who traveled on the flight while infectious. Of the six patients in the cluster, four were on the flight—three Colorado residents and another from out-of-state. 

New cases in California, North Dakota, and Minnesota

In developments in other states, health officials in California’s Santa Clara County, located in the San Francisco Bay area, said they and Alameda County officials are investigating a measles infection in an adult who tested positive after international travel, including through a US airport where measles exposure may have occurred. Officials also warned of potential exposure at two grocery stores and a coffee shop.

Elsewhere, the North Dakota Health and Human Services has confirmed three more measles cases, including two more from Grand Forks County and another from Williams County, bringing the state’s total to 32 since early May. Four counties have reported cases, and most are from Grand Forks and Williams counties. All of the state’s cases occurred in unvaccinated people, and most (24) were reported in people ages 5 to 19 years old. 

Also, the Minnesota Department of Health today reported two more measles cases, bringing the state’s total to four for the year. Both are from the Twin Cities metro area, including a Washington County adult with an unverified vaccination status who was exposed during domestic airline travel outside of Minnesota. 

The other is an unvaccinated child from Dakota County who had no known exposure and had not traveled outside the state in the last month, which health officials said suggests that measles could be spreading undetected in the community. The MDH said the child was at the Mall of America theme park while infectious on May 24.