(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.
Only 51% of Americans believe that childhood vaccines are safe, according to the latest data from Pew Research. And support for school vaccine requirements is slipping, especially among Republicans - now only 52%. Overall support dropped from 82% in 2019 to 69% in 2025.
However, 92% of Democrats and 78% of Republicans agree that the benefits of vaccinating for measles and other dangerous illnesses outweighs the risks.
The survey, conducted in October among 5,111 U.S. adults, did not include questions about religion, which Hildale Mayor Donia Jessop says still holds heavy influence over the former Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints town.
While most cases have remained in rural Arizona and Utah, Salt Lake County recorded its first measles case just days ago.
County Health Department Executive Director said in a press release that the source of the infection is unknown.
"They have not knowingly had contact with anyone who had measles, which means their infection is the result of transmission somewhere out in the community," she said.
Arizona's capital city is also on high alert. Though no cases have been confirmed yet, officials are responding to two potential public exposures caused by a Mohave County resident who traveled to Phoenix for a Tate McRae concert and stayed in a downtown Hilton hotel on Nov. 5.
"This is a good reminder that any of us can face an exposure, and being vaccinated is our best defense," Chief Medical Officer Nick Staab said in a Maricopa County Department of Public Health press release.
Coconino County officials later confirmed that the same person ate lunch at the Flagstaff Mall on their trip home.
When asked for updates Tuesday, a Maricopa County Board of Health spokesperson directed Courthouse News to an inoperable phone number and didn't answer subsequent call backs. Mohave and Coconino Counties didn't respond to requests for comment.
Outbreaks in and around Short Creek mirror other outbreaks across the country. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked the outbreak along the Utah-Arizona border with the first outbreak of the year in Texas. The disease spread from west Texas through Oklahoma, New Mexico and finally into Arizona and Utah. If it continues to spread, the CDC says the U.S. will lose the "elimination status" it has held since 2000.
The U.S. has seen 45 outbreaks this year, compared to 16 last year, and currently has more than 1,700 cases.
The Southwest Utah Public Health Department didn't respond to a request for comment.
Source: Courthouse News Service
