Measles: The Facts

By Kristin Penner

Thursday, March 27, 2025

 

Measles: The Facts

By: Summer Stafford, Family and Community Wellness agent

As we know, a recent measles outbreak has hit Kansas, more specifically, Western Kansas. We know that the origin of the outbreak is originally considered to have been in West Texas, but we now have 23 confirmed cases (and some pending cases) in 6 counties in Kansas at this time. While this can be a scary and unprecedented situation, knowing and understanding the facts and prevention opportunities is important as a Kansas resident. So, we will cover the facts here…

What we know:

According to the Topeka Capital Journal:

  • Kansas is now up to 23 confirmed cases of measles, most of which have been children who are either unvaccinated or under-vaxxed.
  • All cases have been reported in the following counties: Grant, Gray, Haskell, Kiowa, Morton, and Stevens.
  • These are the first cases of measles in Kansas since 2018.
  • 21 cases are children ages birth to 17 years old. 2 are confirmed adult cases.
  • At this time, no measles hospitalizations or deaths have been recorded in Kansas.

KDHE makes vaccination recommendations for southwest Kansas

In counties in southwest Kansas, KDHE is recommending an early dose of the MMR vaccine. Also known as an infant dose, that dose is recommended for infants ages 6-11 months.

For children in those counties who are older than 12 months and have not been vaccinated, KDHE recommends “one dose immediately and follow with a second dose at least 28 days after.” Children older than 12 months who have already gotten a first dose “should receive an early second dose.”

KDHE is also advising teenagers and adults who have previously been vaccinated with one dose should receive a second dose.

More Information

For more information on symptoms, treatments, and more visit the link below:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/measles/symptoms-causes/syc-20374857