We started 2024 with an ongoing measles outbreaks in Philadelphia and Washington.
And after seeing a record high and low number of measles cases in the United States in the last few years, what can we expect in 2024, as measles epidemics are once again being reported around the world and travel restrictions have loosened???
We are already at the 4th highest number of cases since 1996!
2024 Measles Outbreaks
Unfortunately, it looks like we will see more measles…
“There have been 10 outbreaks (defined as 3 or more related cases) reported in 2024, and 68% of cases (97 of 142) are outbreak-associated. For comparison, 4 outbreaks were reported during 2023 and 48% of cases (28 of 58) were outbreak-associated.”
Measles cases in 2024
We had:
- an additional three cases in an unvaccinated family in Clark and Wahkiakum counties in Washington, bringing the total number of cases in this outbreak to 6 (December 2023-January 2024)
- a ‘cluster of measles among unvaccinated residents’ in Philadelphia that increased after an infected person broke quarantine and was sent to daycare, getting at least eight more people sick, including at least 3 that required hospitalization and a linked case in Delaware (December 2023-January 2024)
- a confirmed case in a person who traveled through Northern Virginia when returning from international travel (January 2024)
- a confirmed case of measles in a Liberty, Missouri resident with exposures in Kansas City (January 2024)
- a confirmed case in Camden County, New Jersey with unknown source and exposures at a daycare center (January 2024)
- a resident of Montgomery County, Maryland who had traveled internationally (January 2024)
- a resident of Montgomery County, Ohio, with exposures at Dayton Children’s Hospital and an airport in Kentucky (January 2024)
- a confirmed case in Atlanta, Georgia in an unvaccinated person who was exposed while traveling out of the country (January 2024)
- an unvaccinated 1-year-old in San Diego County, California who required hospitalization (January 2024)
- a resident of California who traveled out of the country and exposed others at Los Angeles International (LAX) airport
- a case in New York City (January 2024)
- an international visitor to Maricopa County, Arizona (February 2024)
- two unvaccinated children in Dakota County, Minnesota, a one-year-old who had traveled out of the country and returned with measles and his sibling who then got sick. (February 2024)
- a confirmed case in a 3rd grader at Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston, Florida that has quickly spread to 5 other people in a school in which 11% of the students are unvaccinated (February 2024)
- a confirmed case in Montgomery County, Ohio, with exposures at a Kroger in Englewood (February 2024)
- a possible case in Clermont Count, Ohio (February 2024)
- a confirmed case in Spokane County, Washington after international travel with multiple exposures in Spokane (February 2024)
- two cases in the Greater New Orleans area of Louisiana who had returned from a “trip out of state,” but not out of the country! (February 2024)
- there is reportedly a second case in Georgia (February 2024)
- a third case of measles in Minnesota, an unvaccinated cousin of the first two cases (February 2024)
- two more cases in Maricopa County with exposures in Chandler, Gilbert, and Queen Creek, Arizona (February 2024)
- another case in the Florida outbreak, bringing the case count to seven (February 2024)
- a resident of Lake County, Indiana, with exposures at three Chicago hospitals (February 2024)
- a child in Oakland County, Michigan – the case is associated with international travel (February 2024)
- a young adult in Polk county, Florida (February 2024)
- another child in the outbreak in Broward County, Florida, bringing the total case count to nine so far (February 2024)
- a possible case in Guilford County, North Carolina (February 2024)
- an adult who traveled out of the country with exposures in Wayne County, Michigan (February 2024)
- a resident of Spokane County, Washington after international travel (February 2024)
- an adult who traveled out of the country with exposures in Washtenaw County, Michigan (March 2024)
- a Chicago resident (March 2024)
- a child in San Joaquin County, California with exposures at an urgent care center and hospital (March 2024)
- a second case at a migrant shelter for new arrivals in Chicago, Illinois
- two cases in Coconino County, Arizona with exposures Flagstaff (March 2024)
- two more case at a migrant shelter in Chicago, Illinois, including a child who was hospitalized
- four more cases at a migrant shelter in Chicago, bringing the total in this outbreak to eight, and another case at one of two Chicago Public Schools
- a person with measles was at the Disney on Ice performance at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio
- two new cases in the Chicago measles outbreak
- a case in Martin County, Florida linked to international travel (March 2024)
- more measles in Chicago, Illinois outbreak where we are up to 33 cases for the year, including nine new cases in the past week, including cases in Lake and Will Counties!
- a case in Jackson County, Michigan that is related to a previous case in Washtenaw County (March 2024)
- an unvaccinated child in Nassau County, New York (March 2024)
- a case with exposures in Montgomery and Greene County, Ohio (March 2024)
- a case in Los Angeles County, California (March/April 2024)
- the Chicago measles outbreak is up to 60 cases, with two new cases this week (April 2024)
- a four year old in Detroit, Michigan (April 2024)
- a case in San Diego County, California – an adult who traveled overseas and required hospitalization (April 2024)
- an out-of-state tourist in Las Vegas, Nevada (April (2024)
- an unvaccinated individual traveling with an international group of students in Georgia who required hospitalization (April 2024)
- another case in Chicago, Illinois, bringing the case count in the Chicago measles outbreak up to 61
- an out of state visitor at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum viewing the solar eclipse in Marion County, Indiana (April 2024)
- two more cases in Chicago, Illinois, bringing the case count in the Chicago measles outbreak up to 63
- an individual who is in Colchester, Vermont as part of an international group program who were exposed to measles on an international flight to Atlanta (April 2024)
- a case in Wisconsin, with exposures in Milton, Janesville, Madison, and Cottage Grove (April 2024)
- an adult in Monongalia County, West Virginia
- another case in Chicago, Illinois, bringing the total case count to 64
- a case in Humboldt County, California (May 2024)
- a case in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (May 2024)
- three cases in Anoka County, Minnesota among siblings, children who returned from a trip to Europe (May 2024)
- a case in Yavapai County, Arizona with exposures in Phoenix, Prescott Valley, and Prescott, Arizona and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as they had returned from a trip to Europe (May 2024)
- a case with exposures at the Philadelphia International Airport in late May 2024
- an adult in Tulare County, California who had recently traveled to Germany (May 2024)
- two unvaccinated children in Taos County, New Mexico who had recently returned from international travel and with exposures at an urgent care center in Espanola (May 2024)
- an adult in Somerset County, New Jersey who had traveled out of the country with exposures in Plainsboro Township (June 2024)
- an unvaccinated child in Seattle, Washington with exposures at an urgent care center (June 2024)
- an unvaccinated child and adult in Clackamas County, Oregon with exposures in Portland (June 2024)
- a child in Marion County, Oregon that is connected to the cases in Clackamas County (June 2024)
- two unvaccinated children in Yolo County, California who recently returned from international travel with exposures in Sacramento (June 2024)
- an infant in Butler County, Ohio who had traveled out of the country (July 2024)
- an international traveler who exposed others while visiting Dartmouth College campus in Hanover, New Hampshire and proceeded to get at least four other people sick in Vermont and New Hampshire (June to July 2024)
- a confirmed case of measles in Santa Cruz County, California (July 2024)
- a confirmed case with exposures in Washington, DC and Arlington, Virginia (July 2024)
- a child in Macomb County, Michigan (July 2024)
- an adult in Worcester County, Massachusetts who had traveled internationally (July 2024)
- an adult in Pennington County, South Dakota who had traveled internationally (July 2024)
- another case in Marion County, Oregon, an unvaccinated child, where an ongoing outbreak has grown to eight cases. (June-July 2024)
- Three measles cases in unvaccinated children this week (two needed to be hospitalized) in Anoka, Hennepin and Ramsey counties in Minnesota. (July 2024)
- the outbreak in Oregon has grown to 25 cases, all unvaccinated, with 16 cases in Marion County, eight in Clackamas County and one in Multnomah County. (June to Aug 2024)
- an international visitor in New Orleans, Louisiana (Aug 2024)
- an international visiting in Orange County, California with multiple exposures in Anaheim and at LAX, arriving on Norse Atlantic Airways (Aug 2024)
- an adult who traveled out of the country in Wayne County, Michigan (Aug 2024)
- seven more cases in Minnesota that may be linked to an earlier outbreak (July – Aug 2024)
- a case in metro Atlanta resident who was not fully vaccinated and who had traveled out of the country (Aug 2024)
- four more cases in Oregon, including 3 unvaccinated children and an unvaccinated adult, bringing the total in that outbreak to 30 cases (June – Aug 2024)
- twelve more cases in Minnesota that may linked to an earlier outbreak, bringing total count in last few months to 24 (May – Aug 2024)
- a child in southeast Idaho, an international traveler who had also exposed people in Wyoming
- an unvaccinated 13-month old who had recently traveled overseas in San Diego, California (August 2024)
- the measles outbreak in Minnesota has spread to at least 36 people, mostly children in the Somali community (May – August 2024)
- a child in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina who was exposed while traveling out of the country (September 2024)
- an unvaccinated student at Western Kentucky University who had traveled out of the country, with exposures at Bowling Green, Kentucky and in Nashville, Tennessee
- an Upstate resident of South Carolina who was recently aboard an international flight with someone who had measles (Sept 2024)
- a resident of Monmouth County, New Jersey who had traveled out of the country with exposures in Freehold, Elizabeth, Marlboro, and Neptune City (Sept 2024)
What’s next?
Unfortunately, we can expect more measles…
Interestingly, unlike most years, lately we have been seeing more indigenous than imported cases!
“Two cases of measles have been confirmed in Texas this year, both in non-school-aged children. The first case was diagnosed in June in a resident of Hood County. The second was diagnosed in August in a resident of McCulloch County. Neither has a history of travel to an area where measles is spreading, and no other risk factors for exposure were identified.”
Health Alert: Confirmed Case of Measles – August 2023
Where are all of these indigenous cases coming from?
Are there more cases than haven’t been reported?
Are we going to start seeing more cases, especially as we are seeing more international outbreaks?
Less travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic had kept measles cases low in the United States, but unless folks get vaccinated and protected, they will rise as travel restrictions have eased.
Are you vaccinated and protected with two doses of MMR?
More on the 2024 Measles Outbreaks:
- Protocol 7 – More Drama from Andy Wakefield
- Measles Outbreaks in Europe
- Misinformation About Measles Outbreaks in Texas
- How Could Seven of My Vaccinated Kids Have the Measles Right Now?
- How Can a Measles Infection Trigger a Growth Spurt in Kids?
- How Many Lives Has the MMR Vaccine Saved?
- Fact Checking the Idea That Measles Was Never a Scary Disease
- How Contagious Is Measles?
- Why Are You Still Worried About the MMR Vaccine?
- What to Do If Your Child Is Exposed to Measles
- Costs of a Measles Outbreak
- CDC – Measles Cases and Outbreaks
- Measles – Timeline | History of Vaccine
- Ask the Experts about MMR
- UNICEF and WHO warn of perfect storm of conditions for measles outbreaks, affecting children
- Health department cautions Philadelphians about recent measles cases
- Measles Update: City announces new measles vaccination policy at Pilsen shelter to protect young children from increase in measles cases
Last Updated on February 9, 2025
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