When 11 babies were exposed to measles in Cache County last month, public health workers rushed to get in touch with their families and helped provide emergency medication to keep the infants from getting sick.

“I was just really proud of the work that the local health department did, and the local health care facilities,” said Amelia Salmanson, an epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, or DHHS. “I went to bed knowing that we were going to be providing this support to these vulnerable babies.”

Salmanson’s still not resting easy, though. She and her colleagues are anticipating a rise in cases of the highly contagious disease, in Utah and beyond. They’re especially focused on other infants too young to be vaccinated but who may come in contact with the virus in day cares or other settings.

“I get very nervous,” Salmanson said.

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Utah has recorded 55 cases of measles this year, with the majority – 41– in the southwestern corner of the state.

That outbreak along the Utah-Arizona border is prompting local health officials to recommend early MMR vaccination (protecting against measles, mumps and rubella) for babies living in or traveling to Washington County.

The standard MMR vaccine schedule starts at 12 months old, Salmanson said, but babies are eligible at six months.

DHHS isn’t recommending early vaccination for kids in other counties, but said it will do so later on if it determines a county’s transmission levels put babies at risk.

Any children who do get an early dose will still need the two standard doses later on, at 12 to 15 months and then at 4 to 6 years, according to the health department.

Outside of the southwest corner of the state, Utah recorded four cases in its northern Bear River district and three in its southeast district, along with seven in Utah County.

Utah County doesn’t have any current cases, said spokesperson Aislynn Tolman-Hill. Still, measles has continued to show up in its wastewater, appearing in its most recent sample from Sept. 30.

While no infants were diagnosed in the county’s outbreak, its health department is preparing for the possibility they’ll be exposed.

“That’s something that, yes, we definitely are concerned about, with how young of a population we have,” Tolman-Hill said, noting Utah County is one of the youngest in the nation. “Along with that, we are concerned about all of the pregnant moms we have out there in our community.”

Salmanson agreed.

“In terms of severe illness and risk for complications, young babies and pregnant women are definitely at the top,” she said.

There’s some indication those with immunity to measles can transfer antibodies to their babies before birth, Salmanson added, but women aren’t eligible to get the vaccine while pregnant. She recommends that those seeking more information visit the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s website.