Measles is spreading to more people and more parts of Utah since an initial outbreak on the Arizona border, with 115 people diagnosed statewide and recent cases confirmed in Davis, Salt Lake and Wasatch counties, the state’s top public health officer said Thursday.

“We haven’t had that many measles cases in Utah for over 30 years,” state epidemiologist Leisha Nolen told reporters Thursday. “So this is very extreme, and it’s really concerning. But also of concern to us is the fact that we’re now seeing measles in more parts of the state.”

Nolen noted the virus can hang in the air for two hours. She and Salt Lake County Health Department Executive Director Dorothy Adams said they’re especially concerned about the danger it poses to babies too young to be vaccinated, who may be exposed to measles in waiting rooms in clinics and hospitals.

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“It’s the most contagious infection we know of. Having somebody go and sit it in a waiting room really puts everyone else at risk,” Nolen said.

With outbreaks throughout the country, the U.S. at the end of the year is poised to lose its long-held elimination status, a designation indicating that outbreaks in the country had been rare and rapidly contained.

On Thursday, the Utah public health officials said measles can be hard to diagnose in the beginning, when most people get sick with a fever, cough and red eyes but may not develop a rash for a few more days. They urged anyone who thinks they might be sick with the virus to call ahead so doctors’ offices can take care to prevent other patients from waiting in the same spaces.

Nolen said 90 percent of Utahns are vaccinated and unlikely to get very sick, but babies generally aren’t vaccinated before their first birthday.

“However, there is an option to give babies the vaccine as early as six months,” Nolen said. “We don’t usually recommend that because there are some downsides, but in this situation, we think it’s reasonable for people to be aware of that option and talk to their clinical provider.”

Nolen said the virus is spreading in Utah communities that have lower rates of vaccination.

“That is what we expect. Without that measles vaccine detection, the virus is very, very easy to spread,” she said.

But statewide, more people are getting immunized. In the last year, Nolen said, she and her colleagues recorded a 30 percent uptick in MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination in Utah.

Adams urged anyone getting a call from contact tracers at a local health department to pick up the phone. She said the information they collect is kept private and their work is critical in helping to prevent spread of the disease. Those employees are happy to provide information to help people verify they’re legitimate, said Adams, who spoke to reporters on behalf of the Utah Association of Local Health Departments.