As measles cases continue to surge across Utah, the University of Utah is warning of potential exposure to the infectious disease on campus from March 24 to March 28 after a case was confirmed. In a Wednesday night campus alert, the U’s Department of Public Safety warned of potential exposure at the following locations:
- March 24: 9 a.m to 2 p.m. in the Sorenson Molecular Biotech Building, 2 to 5:30 p.m. in the James Talmage Building and 5:30 to 11:00 p.m. in the A. Ray Olpin Student Union
- March 25: 8 to 11:30 a.m. in the A. Ray Olpin Student Union and 5 to 8:00 p.m. in the James Talmage Building
- March 26 and 27: all day in Shoreline Student Housing, building 830
- March 28: 2 to 5 p.m. in the Crocker Science Center
Measles is a highly contagious infection that can live in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The same website warns, “If you have measles, up to 90% of the people close to you, who are not immune, will also become infected.”
The MMR vaccine — the most common form of prevention — is 97% effective against measles, according to a different CDC page. In a November 2025 interview with The Chronicle, Utah’s public health officials said that the recent outbreak has been fueled by an unvaccinated population across the state, as Utah has the second-highest rate of vaccine exemption in the country, behind Idaho.
“Almost all of our cases [in Utah], with the exception of a couple, have been unvaccinated,” Clarissa Keisling, the vaccine-preventable disease coordinator for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said.
The U’s campus advisory did not disclose the infected person’s vaccination status.
Utah HHS’s online measles outbreak tracker — updated March 31 — shows 362 Utah residents have been diagnosed with measles in 2026, up from 197 diagnosed in 2025. As 142 of those infections have been diagnosed within the last three weeks, Axios reports that Utah is experiencing its largest surge in cases since the outbreak began last summer.
If you have been exposed, the U’s alert recommends the following:
- Watch for symptoms for 21 days, including fever, cough, runny nose, rash, red or watery eyes and white spots in the mouth.
- Check vaccination status and records to ensure you have had two doses of the MMR vaccine.
- Stay home for 21 days if you are not vaccinated.
