TriCounty Health Department issued a response on Thursday to rumors of a local Rubella outbreak. The health department stated that “Rubella is a reportable disease in the state of Utah and TriCounty Health has no reports of diagnosed or lab confirmed cases at this time.” TriCounty also stated that Rubella is a vaccine-preventable disease and any elementary-aged children who have not exempted out of the MMR vaccine should be fully protected against the disease. Facebook posts began surfacing this week that an email from the Uintah Basin Christian Academy had been distributed to parents and guardians with children attending the school to inform families of what was believed to be 3 probable cases of Rubella. The email also stated that it was believed that due to the gestation period of the disease it was expected that essentially all the students had been in contact with those who had presented with the symptoms. TriCounty Health’s statement provides assurance that at least as of Thursday there had been no confirmed or reported cases in the TriCounty area.
