Measles resurges in the Boise area, prompts school exposure notices
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Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman
CALDWELL (Idaho Statesman) — A highly contagious disease once declared eliminated in the U.S. has been resurging in the Boise area amid low immunization rates. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported five new cases of measles in Canyon County in January, according to the state’s measles dashboard, which logs cases by county, age and vaccination status.
All the cases were among the same household, a spokesperson for Health and Welfare told the Idaho Statesman Friday. Public health officials have so far not seen spread outside that family.
Measles is known for causing a blotchy red rash that often starts on the face and spreads rapidly downward to the chest and the rest of the body. The virus can cause a fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes. Symptoms usually show up a few days after exposure.
Health and Welfare began tracking measles cases over the summer after several cases cropped up in Idaho’s Panhandle and in Eastern Idaho. Since Aug. 4, 21 cases of measles have been reported around the state. All are marked as unvaccinated or as having an “unknown” vaccination status.
Most cases tracked by the state were in children age 12 and younger.
Southwest District Health, which covers Canyon County, sent a letter to parents and guardians on Jan. 15 warning that a child or staff member with measles had been at Vallivue Middle School in Caldwell on Jan. 9. The letter noted that measles, which spreads easily through droplets released into the air when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes, is “very contagious.”
But most school-age children who are fully vaccinated are protected, the letter said. Children are recommended to get two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine, once when they turn 1 and once before they start kindergarten, at about age 4 or 5.
Southwest District Health sent another letter Jan. 23 saying that a child or staff member with measles had been at Vallivue High School in Caldwell on Jan. 20.
The health district said most students with measles are sick enough to miss at least a week of school. It noted that one in every 20 people with measles develops pneumonia. Rarely, measles can cause life-threatening complications.
The letter instructed parents and guardians to immediately call a doctor and shelter at home if their child develops symptoms associated with measles.
Nearly 80% of kindergarteners in Idaho in the 2023-24 school year were vaccinated, leaving about 20% unprotected, according to the annual National Immunization Survey. Nationwide, the share of immunized kindergarteners was 92.1%.
“We know that not all of our kids are up to date,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Christine Hahn told the Statesman in August. “And then the school data, where schools report on what percent of their kids they know are up to date, we rank very poorly in that measure. It means that it’s hard for us to be confident that our kids are protected.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the highest number of annual cases last year since the country declared measles eliminated in 2000. Public health experts credit its resurgence with declining immunization rates.
