SEDGWICK COUNTY —A case of measles has been confirmed in Sedgwick County in an unvaccinated child between the ages of 5 and 10 years old, the county health department reported on its website Wednesday.
Sedgwick County officials are working to identify the source of exposure and notify anyone who may have been exposed. The health department urged residents to review their vaccination status and consult their healthcare provider if they have symptoms.
Meanwhile, the Kansas Department of Health on Wednesday reported three new case of measles over the past week in the state. The state's updated report did not include the case just announced in Sedgwick County.
Kansas has 49 cases in eight counties in the southwest part of the state as of Wednesday, including Morton Stevens, Haskell, Kiowa, Grant, Finney, Ford and Gray counties. One person remains hospitalized, according to the KDHE.
North Dakota is the 11th state in the U.S. with a measles outbreak, logging its first cases since 2011.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's confirmed measles case count is 935, more than triple the amount seen in all of 2024. The three-month outbreak in Texas accounts for the vast majority of cases, with 702 confirmed as of Tuesday. The outbreak has also spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas.
Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.
Other states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
North America has two other ongoing outbreaks. One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,243 cases from mid-October through April 29. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 922 measles cases and one death as of Tuesday, according to data from the state health ministry. Health officials in Mexico and the U.S. say all three outbreaks are of the same measles strain.
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.
As the virus takes hold in U.S. communities with low vaccination rates, health experts fear that spread could stretch on for a year. Here's what else you need to know about measles in the U.S.
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 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 measles 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 most children back then had measles and now have “presumptive immunity.”
In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called “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. The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60.
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.
- People who are at risk for measles infection are those who have not been vaccinated.
- Babies 6 to 11 months old in Sedgwick County can now receive the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine ahead of schedule per KDHE. Children should then follow the recommended vaccination schedule as they get older.
- If you have not been vaccinated or are unsure, call your healthcare provider or the Sedgwick County Health Department at 316-660-7300 to schedule a MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination.