Up to 2,000 Utahns may have been exposed to and infected with measles after attending a Utah High School Cycling League event held at Soldier Hollow on Aug. 16, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Tuesday. 

Even outdoors, Utah epidemiologist Dr. Leisha Nolen said, measles spreads easily.

“Given the number of people who may have been exposed to measles at Soldier Hollow on Aug. 16, 2025, we encourage attendees and participants of upcoming Utah High School Cycling League Region 6 events to check their MMR vaccination status,” Nolen said. 

Lana North, communications and health educator for the Wasatch County Health Department, said that, to the best of their knowledge at the health department, none of the participants at the event were Wasatch County residents. Kim Dickerson, Wasatch County School Board president, confirmed that there were no Wasatch County School District students in attendance. 

“We are not aware of any measles cases in Wasatch County,” North said. 

As of Sept. 2, there have been a total of 1,431 confirmed measles cases in the United States. There have been 35 outbreaks reported in 2025, and 86% of confirmed cases (1,231 out of 1,431) are outbreak-associated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same report, updated every Wednesday, shows that 92% of measles cases happen to unvaccinated individuals. 

The Centers for Disease Control reported Sept. 2  a total of 15 measles cases in Utah, where nearly 90% of kindergartners were estimated to be vaccinated for the 2023-24 school year. 

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services said in a press release that individuals who have received the MMR vaccine are “well protected” from measles. 

“The MMR vaccine is effective and safe, and 2 doses are recommended for children 4 years and older. The MMR vaccine has been, for decades, one of the most effective tools for controlling the spread of measles,” the press release reads. 

Measles symptoms begin about one to two weeks after exposure and include a fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. Then, a fever spikes days later to 101 degrees or higher and is usually followed by a blotchy rash, which appears first on the face and hairline or behind the ears. 

Aubreigh Parks, nursing and wellness supervisor for Wasatch County School District, said exposure requirements are dependent on the vaccination status of the student. If the student has not been vaccinated and were exposed during a contagious period at school, they would be excused from school until the health department had cleared them to return. 

“They would also have an opportunity, depending on when that exposure was, to start the vaccination for that MMR for measles to be able to return to school sooner so that they could start that immunity process,” Parks said. “But this would all be managed through the Health Department.”

Parks said the Wasatch County School District in particular is training health staff in the school to be aware of measles and is working closely with the health department to protect their “most at-risk” students should an outbreak occur.