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The Latest Measles Outbreak in Kansas

Vincent Iannelli, MD

Several things are troubling about the measles outbreak in Kansas.

For one thing, it involved a lot of infants who were too young to be vaccinated. Their parents didn’t get to make a choice about getting vaccinated or getting measles. They got measles.

An ongoing measles outbreak in Kansas is up to 18 cases.

Also, as the case count climbed to 22 before ending, we are only now learning how the outbreak got started.

Greg Lakin, the chief medical officer for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said the current outbreak started when an infant who was too young to be vaccinated picked up the virus in Asia. That infant then returned to a Johnson County day care.

What You Need to Know About the JoCo Outbreak

But what does too young to be vaccinated mean?

Remember that if you are traveling out of the country, infants should get their first MMR early, as early as six months of age.

Update on the Measles Outbreak in Kansas

Since the outbreak in a daycare in Johnson County was discovered on March 8, a total of 22 measles cases have been identified, including:

The latest cases could have exposed other people to measles at:

If you were exposed and aren’t immune to measles (two doses of the MMR vaccine provide good protection), then you should watch for signs and symptoms to develop 10 to 21 days after your last exposure (in quarantine).

With the new exposures, that means that we could expect to see new cases associated with this outbreak any time between now and April 29th (the last exposure and the longest incubation period).

A History of Measles Outbreaks in Kansas

Some folks probably recall that this isn’t the first big measles outbreak in Kansas.

One of the largest measles outbreaks of 2014 was in the Kansas City metropolitan area. That year, at least 28 people developed measles, including a newborn who was only two weeks old.

In addition to the outbreak in Kansas City, there was another large outbreak that year in Sedgwick County – Wichita, Kansas.

And like most measles outbreaks, other states were affected too. Someone from Texas developed measles after getting exposed to measles at a softball tournament in Wichita.

More recently, outbreaks in Kansas have included:

Why are there still so many measles outbreaks in Kansas?

Like in other places with outbreaks, it is likely explained by relatively high levels of non-medical exemptions and clusters of unvaccinated children and adults.

Hopefully this outbreak will be a good reminder that vaccines are necessary and everyone will get their kids caught up and protected.

What to Know About the Measles Outbreak in Kansas

Kansas is in the middle of another large measles outbreak and as usual, it is mostly among those who are unvaccinated, including many too young to be vaccinated.

More on the Measles Outbreak in Kansas

Updated on April 21, 2018

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