Health officials in Illinois and North Dakota say their measles outbreaks are over
Measles outbreaks in Illinois and North Dakota have endedBy DEVI SHASTRIAP Health WriterThe Associated Press
Health officials in Illinois and North Dakota say their states’ measles outbreaks are over, pointing to a continuing slowdown of measles spread in the U.S. during vaccine-preventable disease’s worst year since 1991.
Wednesday’s national case count stood at 1,309 — 21 new cases in a week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, the U.S. passed the total count for 2019, when the country almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.
A vast majority of this year’s cases are from Texas, where a major outbreak raged through the late winter and spring. Other states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah.
There have been three deaths in the U.S. this year, and all were unvaccinated: two elementary school-aged children in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico.
North America has three other large outbreaks. The longest, in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 2,244 cases from mid-October through July 8. The province logged its first death June 5 in a baby who got congenital measles but also had other preexisting conditions.
Another outbreak in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 1,323 as of Tuesday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 3,129 measles cases and eight deaths as of Tuesday, according to data from the state health ministry.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.
How many measles cases are there in Texas?
Texas reported 762 measles cases on Tuesday — nine new cases in a week — across 36 counties, most of them in West Texas.
Throughout the outbreak, 99 people have been hospitalized. State health officials estimated less than 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — were actively infectious as of Tuesday.
Statewide, only Lamar County has ongoing measles transmission, officials said. In total, though, more than half of Texas’ cases (414) have been in Gaines County, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community.
The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6.
How many measles cases are there in New Mexico?
New Mexico stayed steady at 95 measles cases on Tuesday.
While most of the state’s cases are in Lea County, 14 cases are tied to an outbreak in a jail in Luna County.
An unvaccinated adult died of measles-related illness March 6. The person did not seek medical care. Seven people have been hospitalized since the state’s outbreak started.
San Juan, Eddy, Chaves, Curry, Doña Ana and Sandoval counties also had measles cases this year.
How many cases are there in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma held steady a second week at 17 confirmed and three probable cases.
The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases.
How many cases are there in Arizona?
Arizona has four cases in Navajo County. They are linked to a single source, the county health department said June 9. All four were unvaccinated and had a history of recent international travel.
How many cases are there in Colorado?
Colorado has been at a steady 16 measles cases for a few weeks, including one outbreak of 10 related cases.
The outbreak is linked to a Turkish Airlines flight that landed at Denver International Airport in mid-May. Four of the people were on the flight with the first person diagnosed — an out-of-state traveler not included in the state count — while five got measles from exposure in the airport and one elsewhere.
Other counties that have seen measles this year include Archuleta, Boulder and Pueblo.
How many cases are there in Georgia?
Georgia has an outbreak of three cases in metro Atlanta, with the most recent infection confirmed June 18.
The state has confirmed six total cases in 2025. The remaining three are part of an unrelated outbreak from January.
How many cases are there in Illinois?
The outbreak in far southern Illinois is over, health officials said last week. All told, there were eight cases in that outbreak.
The state’s other two cases were unrelated, and in Cook County.
How many cases are there in Iowa?
Iowa announced another measles case on Monday, bringing the state’s total to seven in 2025. The state health department said the new case isn’t linked to others in the state, and occurred in a person who was fully vaccinated.
The outbreak in eastern Johnson County involves four cases in members of the same household.
How many cases are there in Kansas?
Kansas added three more cases this week for a total of 90 across 11 counties in the southwestern part of the state, with eight hospitalizations. All but three of the cases are connected, and most are in Gray County.
How many measles cases are there in Kentucky?
Kentucky has 13 cases this year.
Central Kentucky’s outbreak rose to nine cases as of Tuesday. The cases are in Fayette County, which includes Lexington, and neighboring Woodford County.
Kentucky health officials announced a new case in Jefferson County on Monday. The mayor’s office said Tuesday that it’s an adolescent who traveled internationally to an area with an outbreak. Their vaccination status isn’t known.
How many cases are there in Michigan?
The state has had 18 cases total in 2025; eight are linked to outbreaks.
In northern Michigan, Grand Traverse County has an outbreak of four cases as of Wednesday. An earlier outbreak of four cases in Montcalm County was declared over on June 2.
How many cases are there in Missouri?
Missouri stayed steady with seven cases as of Wednesday.
Five cases are in southwestern Cedar County, and four of those are members of the same family. The fifth case is still under investigation, according to county health director Victoria Barker.
How many cases are there in Montana?
Montana was steady on Wednesday with 25 measles. Seventeen were in Gallatin County, which is where the first cases showed up — Montana’s first in 35 years.
Flathead and Yellowstone counties had two cases each, and Hill County had four cases.
There are outbreaks in neighboring North Dakota and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
How many cases are there in North Dakota?
The state’s health department confirmed that outbreaks in Williams, Grand Forks and Cass counties are over.
But the state’s count grew to 36 for the year, adding one case in Williams County that was infectious in May, but not confirmed until this week.
The other case is new and also in Williams County. When it was announced late last week, state vaccine official Jenny Galbraith said it was believed to have been from out-of-state travel, wasn’t connected to the county’s past outbreak and that there was “no evidence of community spread.”
Counties that have seen cases this year include Williams with 18, Grand Forks with 10, Cass with seven and Burke with one.
How many cases are there in Utah?
Utah’s measles case count rose by one to 10 as of Tuesday.
At least three of the cases are linked, the state health department said last week. State epidemiologist Dr. Leisha Nolen has said there are at least three different measles clusters in the state.
Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?
Measles cases also have been reported this year in Alaska, Arkansas, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
Earlier outbreaks in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee are over.
Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. The CDC said in May that more than twice as many measles have come from outside of the U.S. compared to May of last year. Most of those are in unvaccinated Americans returning home.
What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?
The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.
People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have “presumptive immunity.”
Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — due to “herd immunity.” But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.
What are the symptoms of measles?
Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.
The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.
Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
How can you treat measles?
There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.
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