Measles in Alabama? Officials investigating possible case that would be state’s first in years
According to information released by ADPH, the investigation is taking place in Lee County, involving one person “who was not yet eligible for vaccine.” The CDC recommends that children get their first dose of the vaccine when they are between 12 and 15 months old.
“ADPH is collaborating with local medical providers to identify any other unvaccinated persons who may need to receive the MMR vaccine,” said the statement released Sunday. “At this time, given that most eligible Alabamians are vaccinated against measles, the risk for an outbreak remains low, but some persons will need to be vaccinated as part of this investigation.”
ADPH chief medical officer and pediatrician Dr. Karen Landers said in the statement that “Measles vaccine is safe and highly effective in producing lifelong immunity against this potentially deadly disease. Our citizens can protect themselves and others by ensuring that all eligible persons are vaccinated.”
The news comes as the nation grapples with the largest surge of measles in many years. The disease was declared eliminated in the country in 2000; the CDC warns that “Although the United States still benefits from high population immunity from routine MMR vaccination, declining immunization rates among school-aged children and communities with already low vaccination coverage threaten a resurgence of measles, along with its potentially serious associated complications.”
As of Friday, June 5, the CDC reported 1,168 confirmed cases in 34 jurisdictions – not including the suspected Alabama case reported Sunday. Out of those cases, 137 people were hospitalized and three died; 95% of the patients were unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown.
According to CDC figures, Alabama had no cases in 2024 and 2023. While it wasn’t immediately clear when Alabama had its last outbreak, it might have been as far back as 2002, when an infant who had recently been brought back from the Philippines initiated about a dozen cases mostly affecting other unvaccinated infants at a daycare facility. Prior to that, an outbreak in 1989 comprised 61 cases.
In a report issued in February 2025, State Health Officer Scott Harris said that measles “was once listed among our state’s leading causes of death,” with 41 deaths in 1953 and 13 in 1964.
The CDC classes measles as “the most highly contagious febrile rash illness, infecting up to 90% of susceptible close contacts and resulting in serious complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, and death.”
The Alabama Department of Public Health has a measles webpage offering resources for the public and for healthcare providers. The CDC maintains an online dashboard updated weekly.