HEBER CITY, Utah — A measles outbreak among students at Wasatch High School continues to rise, with the total number of confirmed cases now at 8, according to health officials.
The Wasatch County Health Department announced Tuesday that two suspected cases of measles at the Heber City school came back positive, while an additional case was also identified. The three new measles cases come days after five cases were confirmed last week.
As with all but two of the previous measles cases at the school, the three students identified this week were not vaccinated.
No further cases are pending at the school, but the timing of the spread is concerning.
"This is such an exciting time to be with family. I think just being open and transparent with each other. Let's just communicate, if you have a student that maybe has been exposed and you're visiting family, just helping them be aware that we're all on the same page," said Lana North with the health department.
The health department believes students and staff may have been exposed to the virus on Nov. 14, 17-18, and at a school play on Nov. 15. Unvaccinated students who were possibly exposed to measles were asked to stay home for 21 days.
There are now 102 confirmed measles cases statewide, with the majority occurring in southwest Utah, although the most recent cases in Wasatch County have come in an area with the lowest vaccination rates.
"This is not minor, so we really encourage parents to take precautions to make sure they don’t get it or their kid doesn’t get it," said Utah State Epidemiologist Dr. Leisha Nolen.
With the holidays here, North says it's a good time for everyone to also be up to date with their flu and COVID vaccines.
