Measles outbreak continues to expand across Arizona, Utah

(CN) — Twenty-five years after it was considered eliminated in the U.S., measles cases continue to rise in a religious community along the Arizona-Utah border as skepticism about vaccines spreads.

Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, collectively known as “The Crick” and historically a haven for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, are in the midst of one of the largest measles outbreaks in the country — and in the last 30 years. Mohave County, home to Colorado City, has one of the lowest childhood vaccination rates in the county at only 76%, and vaccine skepticism continues to rise across the nation.

The Arizona Department of Health Services reported nine new measles cases Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total to 137 with four hospitalizations. Utah now has 87 cases and nine hospitalizations. Only two of Utah’s confirmed patients have been vaccinated, and 49 are younger than 18, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

While Arizona’s cases have so far stayed isolated in Mohave and Navajo Counties — only four in the latter — confirmed cases in Utah have been more widespread. Most cases have been recorded in Iron and Washington Counties, where vaccination rates are 82% and 70%, respectively.

https://www.courthousenews.com/measles-outbreak-continues-to-expand-across-arizona-utah/