Anguished Parents. Doctors in Tears. Utah’s Long Measles Outbreak Takes a Toll.

By: Amy Maxmen

Outlets: KFF Health News

Published: June 10, 2026

Words: 3,895

Last Updated: 1 day, 17 hours ago

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SALT LAKE CITY — Ben Dowse hadn’t expected to treat measles when he became a doctor, but there he was, examining a newborn exposed to the virus in the womb. The infected mother had given birth just hours earlier. The hospital had alerted Dowse to the case before delivery, and he’d braced himself for the worst.

Dowse wore a full-body protective suit with a plastic face mask. As a pediatrician in southern Utah, he couldn’t …

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