Kansas measles cases double to 23 and new Ohio outbreak sickens 10
[March 27, 2025]
By DEVI SHASTRI
A measles outbreak in Kansas doubled in less than a week to 23 cases and
has "a possible link” to outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico that have
sickened more than 370, the state health department said Wednesday.
And health officials in Ohio say a single case identified in Ashtabula
County has spread to nine others. Even before these two growing clusters
were reported, the number of measles cases in the U.S. had already
surpassed the case count for all of 2024, according to the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment put doctors on high
alert on Monday and recommended early vaccination for infants 6 to 11
months old who live in outbreak counties or near them. Usually, children
get the measles, mumps and rubella shot after they turn 1. In outbreaks,
early vaccination can be an option.
The state's last count Friday included 10 cases across three
southwestern counties: Grant, Morton and Stevens. Now, the outbreak
includes Haskell, Gray, and Kiowa counties. All but two of the cases are
in people younger than 18, state data shows. The outbreak started with a
measles case in Stevens County identified March 13.
In Ohio, 10 cases are in Ashtabula County and a separate visitor in Knox
County exposed people there and in several other counties, the state
health department said. A measles outbreak in central Ohio sickened 85
in 2022.
“Given the measles activity in Texas, New Mexico, and other states
around the country, we’re disappointed but not surprised we now have
several cases here in Ohio and known exposure in some counties,” said
Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff. “This disease
can be very serious, even deadly, but it is almost entirely avoidable by
being properly vaccinated."
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Matt Caldwell, left, a Lubbock Fire Department official, administers
a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to Clair May, 61, at the
Lubbock Health Department, Feb. 26, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP
Photo/Mary Conlon, File)
 New Mexico had 43
outbreak-associated cases Tuesday and Texas had 327. The Oklahoma
outbreak “associated” with Texas and New Mexico has 9 cases.
Public health experts say the outbreak that started in Texas in late
January could last for months. If it hits other unvaccinated
communities across the U.S., as may now be the case in Kansas, the
outbreak could endure for a year and threaten the nation's status as
having eliminated local spread of the vaccine-preventable disease,
they said.
Experts consider communities protected from measles outbreaks if
they have an MMR vaccination rate of 95% or higher. The two-shot
series is required before entering public kindergarten and is 97%
effective at protecting against measles.
Several of the Kansas counties seeing measles spread have much lower
vaccination rates, including: 82% in Morton County, 83% in Stevens
County, 58% in Haskell County, and 66% in Gray County, according to
state health department data from the 2023-2024 school year.
Statewide, 89% of kindergarteners in Ohio were vaccinated against
measles in the 2023-24 school year, CDC data shows.
“Due to the highly contagious nature of measles, additional cases
are likely to occur within the current outbreak area and the
surrounding counties, especially among those who are unvaccinated,"
said Jill Bronaugh, the Kansas state health department's
spokeswoman.
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