Measles outbreak: 10th case reported in SW Kansas, all involving children under 18
One week after confirming its first positive case of measles, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment is reporting online there are now 10 cases in the southwest part of the state this year, meeting the criteria to call it an outbreak.
Eight Kansas residents have tested positive for measles in the last three weeks, according to data updated Friday. The other two cases were reported in late January and early February.
All of the cases involved patients under the age of 18, according to the data. Seven of the cases involve children 10 years old and younger, while two involved children between 11 and 13 years old. The remaining case was a teen between 14 and 17 years old.
Nine of the cases involved children who were unvaccinated, and the other child was under-vaccinated, said Philip Harris, deputy communications director for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The cases involved residents of Grant, Morton and Stevens counties in southwest Kansas. There have been no hospitalizations, he said.
“By definition, this is considered an outbreak of measles because we have more than three cases,” Harris said.
Health officials announced last week that it had confirmed a case of measles in a resident in Stevens County, the first such case since 2018. Stevens County is about 400 miles from Kansas City in the southwest corner of Kansas. State and local health officials were working to notify those who may have been exposed.
It was unknown if the case was linked to any ongoing measles outbreaks in the United States, health officials said at the time.
There have not been any confirmed cases in Missouri, according to information updated Friday from the Center For Disease Control.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious airborne virus that is spread by breathing, coughing or sneezing. It can be spread from an infected person to others from four days before to four days after a rash appears.
Because it is a highly infectious disease, anyone exposed and experiencing symptoms should isolate from others, health officials said.
Symptoms include a fever higher than 101 degrees, runny nose, cough and red, watery eyes. A rash usually appears on the face and spreads to the rest of the body one to four days after these early symptoms, the state health department said.
Who needs to get a vaccine?
The best way to prevent measles is to get the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, health officials said.
The CDC recommends children get their first dose at 12 to 15 months of age, and a second dose at age 4 to 6 years. Infants ages 6 through 11 months old should get the MMR vaccination if traveling outside the United States, health officials say.
Those born before 1957 are considered immune because they likely had the disease, said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at the University of Kansas Health System, earlier this week on the daily podcast “Open Mics with Dr. Stites.”
There is a gray area for those vaccinated before 1968 because the vaccine was a little different. Hawkinson suggested those in that age group to talk to their doctor about it.
“You are otherwise considered immune if you have a documented two doses of the MMR vaccine,” he said.
For those with one dose or who don’t know if they have been vaccinated, there is the ability to test for antibodies. Those individuals should also talk to their doctor.
“Certainly it is always OK if you are unsure to get the vaccine dose now, it has a great track record of being very safe and very effective,” Hawkinson said.
People who have had measles are considered immune because they have a natural infection immunity. Hawkinson said there are consequences that occur for those who get the disease.
“Remember, about one in five people are hospitalized,” he said. “One in 20 will get pneumonia. One to three can get the encephalitis or the brain infection. And then about one in 1,000 die.”
Measles cases rising across the U.S.
As of March 20, 2025, the most recent data available, a total of 378 confirmed measles cases were reported in 18 states: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington, according to the Center for Disease Control.
There have been three outbreaks, defined as three or more related cases, reported this year, with 90% of the confirmed cases being associated to those outbreaks. In 2024, there were 16 outbreaks reported with 198 of the total of 285 cases, or 69%, being associated with outbreaks.
So far this year, there have been 124 cases involving children under 5 years old, 159 cases involving children and teens between 5 and 19 years old, and 86 involving people 20 years old and older.
The vast majority, 95%, of the cases this year involve those who were unvaccinated or their vaccinated status was unknown. The CDC reports there have been 64 patients have been hospitalized, with 27% of the cases involving children under 5 years old and 11% between the ages of 5 and 19 years old. There has been one confirmed death from measles, with another death under investigation.
One death occurred in west Texas, where a school-aged child who was not vaccinated was hospitalized and later died, health officials said.
The second death, in Lea County, New Mexico, is still under investigation, but the CDC lists it as a measles-related death. That resident was unvaccinated and tested positive for measles, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
Kansas health officials said measles cases rarely occur in Kansas and are usually associated with international travel.
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Measles outbreak: 10th case reported in SW Kansas, all involving children under 18."
