The recent rise in measles cases across Utah continues to reveal the virus’s impact on Utah Valley.

Measles has been detected in the Provo wastewater system, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services warned in a press release Friday afternoon.

The wastewater sample was collected on July 7 by an independent testing program.

State health officials say the detection doesn’t come as a surprise, given that seven out of nine Utahns with confirmed cases of measles are residents of Utah County.

The test does not reveal who is infected; it just shows that someone in the area had it.

But health officials say they are sharing the information to alert citizens that measles is circulating in Utah County and to encourage people to take precautions. 

Dr. Leisha Nolen, state epidemiologist at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, said wastewater sampling is a new and useful tool to monitor public health risks.

“In this case, we know someone had measles in the Provo area around the time the sample was taken,” she said.

Nolen adds that wastewater sampling may also help in determining where the illness is on the rise.

“Information from wastewater will be most useful when it is positive in areas where no one has been identified with measles,” she explained. “When that happens, we will be able to use the data to alert clinicians in those areas to make sure they are aware someone with measles may come in for care.”

The detection was reported to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services by WastewaterSCAN officials on July 11, according to the department’s media release.

WastewaterSCAN, which is based at Stanford University, monitors infectious diseases in wastewater systems across the country, including sites in Provo and South Salt Lake. 

Utah plans to expand measles wastewater monitoring to all 35 sites in the future.

“When people get sick with measles, they can shed the virus in their feces or urine which then goes into our wastewater or sewer systems,” Nathan LaCross, manager of the department’s Utah Wastewater Surveillance System, said in the news release. “This can then be detected for days to weeks in wastewater samples. “This helps us identify communities where people are infected with measles, sometimes even before we know that anyone is sick.”

Information from testing samples of wastewater can’t be used to identify a specific person or traced back to households or individuals. Samples are collected at the water treatment plant where all of the wastewater from the entire community goes to be treated, the release noted.

As of July 8, there are 1,288 confirmed measles cases in 39 states across the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Measles is highly contagious and spreads easily from person to person. Symptoms include mild illnesses – such as fever, rash, diarrhea or ear infections – but can lead to serious complications, especially in vulnerable groups, like pregnant women, babies and young children.

Nolen said it can take one to three weeks for symptoms to show after someone has been infected with the virus.

“This is another reminder that measles is in Utah and it is important to protect ourselves and our families from getting measles,” she said. “The best protection against measles is the MMR vaccine. The MMR vaccine is 97% effective against measles when 2 doses are given. It is very rare for someone to get measles if they are vaccinated.”

Health officials urge anyone with symptoms related to measles to contact a health care provider immediately.