Montcalm County has Michigan's first measles outbreak of 2025
Michigan now has a measles outbreak in Montcalm County, the Mid-Michigan District Health Department told the Detroit Free Press.
Brady Guilbault, the department's public information officer, confirmed April 17 that two additional measles cases have been identified that are tied to an infection initially reported April 9 in a Montcalm County resident who traveled out of state. The department issued an alert to local health care providers, but had not made public notification of the outbreak as of Thursday afternoon.
Guilbault said in an email message that there are no known public exposures when people with measles in Montcalm County were contagious and may have infected others.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines an outbreak as three or more measles cases that are epidemiologically linked.
"No further details will be released," Guilbault said.
The health department, which includes Montcalm, Clinton and Gratiot counties in mid-Michigan, advised medical providers in an April 16 email alert to consider measles infection in any patient who reports having a fever and rash, especially if the person has traveled in the last 21 days, is unvaccinated or the person's vaccination status is unknown.
"Immediate isolation, appropriate specimen collection, and notification are crucial to expedite public health action, including post-exposure prophylaxis, that can limit and control disease transmission," the health department said in the emailed announcement.
Guilbault declined to answer questions from the Free Press about:
Whether any of the people with measles infections in Montcalm County were vaccinated with two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.
When each of the cases was identified.
When health officials were able to epidemiologically link them.
Whether any of the people infected with measles were hospitalized.
When it will issue public notification of the outbreak.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also would not answer questions specifically about the Montcalm County measles outbreak, but spokesperson Laina Stebbins told the Free Press that the state does provide "consultation and coordination" when measles cases are identified and works with local health departments.
"We currently do not have additional outbreak cases under investigation," Stebbins said. "We continue to closely monitor exposed contacts for 21 days following their exposure, and Michigan's outbreak status will remain 'open' until two incubation periods have passed with no new cases.
"We recommend persons exposed to measles to monitor for symptoms for 21 days after an exposure. The start of measles symptoms after exposure generally occurs within 10-14 days.
"Given the experiences of other states and the drop in childhood MMR coverage in Michigan, we are expecting our measles activity in Michigan to continue. Importation of measles cases may continue to occur, but sustained measles outbreaks are preventable with community immunity."
The news of the outbreak comes as the number of measles cases in the state and across the U.S. is exploding amid low vaccination rates. In Montcalm County, just 75.7% of toddlers ages 19-35 months have gotten the recommended dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, as recommended to prevent infection.
It takes about 95% of the population to be immune to the highly contagious measles virus to create herd immunity, according to the CDC. Herd immunity occurs when almost an entire community is immune to an infectious disease, which reduces the risk of spreading the illness to those who are not vaccinated because the virus cannot maintain sustained spread within the population.
As of April 10, there were 712 confirmed measles cases in the U.S. this year in 24 states — more than double the number of cases nationally in all of 2024, when there were 285, according to the CDC.
Of the cases so far this year, about 70% have been among children and teenagers, and 97% have been among people who were either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown.
In Michigan, there have been at least four other measles cases this year:
An adult from Oakland County who traveled internationally with an unknown vaccination history and was the state's first measles case of 2025. The person exposed others March 8-10 at a restaurant in Rochester and at Henry Ford Rochester Hospital.
A traveler from Kent County who potentially exposed hundreds of other people to measles March 24-28 when visiting Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus and the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, along with a restaurant in Kentwood and a Corewell Health facility in East Grand Rapids.
An adult from Macomb County who traveled to the Windsor-Essex County area of Ontario, Canada. The case was announced April 4, and the person is not believed to have gone out in public while infectious, so there are no known exposure sites.
A 1-year-old girl from Ingham County who got one dose of the MMR vaccine the day before traveling through a Michigan airport out of state with her family. But it wasn't enough time for her body to mount an immune response. Her infection was reported April 14, and she exposed others at multiple locations in Lansing, East Lansing, and Okemos, including at a farmers market, a preschool/day care center, a restaurant, a hospital emergency department and a building on the Michigan State University campus.
According to the CDC, measles symptoms typically start within seven-14 days of exposure, but also have been known to appear as long as 21 days after initial exposure and can include:
Fever, which may rise above 104 degrees.
Respiratory symptoms such as runny nose, cough.
Red, watery eyes that can develop into pink eye or conjunctivitis.
Two to three days after symptoms begin, tiny white spots, known as Koplik spots, may develop on the inner cheeks, gums and roof of the mouth.
Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash that is red, raised and blotchy appears. It usually begins on the face and spreads to the trunk, arms and legs.
A person with measles can be infectious and spreading the disease for as many as four days before they develop the telltale rash, and for four days after the rash begins, according to the CDC. And the virus is so contagious that even after a person infected with measles leaves the room, up to two hours later, 90% of people without immunity to the virus will get sick if they enter the room.
Measles can cause serious illness, long-term disability and death in people of all ages.
So far this year, 79 people in the U.S. with confirmed measles cases have been hospitalized for treatment — that's about 11% of the 712 confirmed infections nationally. The vast majority — 65 of the 79 who were hospitalized — were younger than the age of 20, according to the CDC.
About 1 in 20 children with measles develops pneumonia. Roughly 1 out of every 1,000 children with measles infections will also have encephalitis. Brain swelling from encephalitis can lead to convulsions, permanent hearing loss, intellectual disability and death, according to the CDC.
Anywhere from 1 to 3 of every 1,000 children with measles dies from respiratory or neurologic complications from the virus.
People who contract measles during pregnancy also are more likely to develop pneumonia and be hospitalized. The virus can cause miscarriage and stillbirth as well as trigger preterm birth and lead to lower birth weights, according to the CDC.
The CDC has confirmed two deaths from measles in the U.S. this year. A third death remains under investigation.
"Our recommendation is for everyone to be vaccinated," Dr. Nike Shoyinka, Ingham County's medical health officers, said in a statement.
One dose of the MMR vaccine provides about 93% protection against the virus, and two doses offer about 97% coverage, the CDC says. It recommends the following for MMR vaccines:
A first dose for children at 12 months-15 months old, with a booster dose administered between ages 4 and 6.
Anyone born during or after 1957 without evidence of immunity against measles or documentation of having been vaccinated with two doses of MMR vaccine should get vaccinated. The second dose should be given no sooner than 28 days after the first.
People exposed to measles who cannot document immunity against the virus should get post-exposure prophylaxis — a dose of the vaccine to potentially provide protection within 72 hours of initial exposure, or immunoglobulin within six days of exposure.
The CDC changed its recommendations in 1989 from one dose of the MMR vaccine to two doses, which provides longer-lasting and more robust protection. People born between 1957 and 1989 who have had just a single dose of the vaccine may be at a higher risk of contracting the virus in an outbreak setting.
MMR vaccines are available through primary care providers and pharmacies.
Medicaid and most private insurance plans cover the MMR vaccine at no cost. Low- to no-cost vaccines also are available at local public health department offices.
Children eligible for the Vaccines for Children program also may receive the vaccine from a provider enrolled in that program at no cost. To learn more, go to: Vaccines for Children (VFC): Information for Parents | CDC.
Ingham County residents: The health department is hosting an MMR vaccine clinic 3-7 p.m. April 22 at 303 S. Cedar St., Lansing. (Enter through entrance No. 3 and go to the second floor. It will be in conference room A.)The walk-in hours at the clinic are: 1-4 p.m. Thursdays; 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Call the health department at 517-887-4316 or email Immunization@ingham.org to make an appointment.
Oakland County residents: The Oakland County Health Division offices in Southfield and Pontiac also have MMR vaccines available 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays, and 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursdays at:
North Oakland Health Center, 1200 N. Telegraph Road, Building 34 East, Pontiac.
South Oakland Health Center, 27725 Greenfield Road, Southfield.
Macomb County residents: Call 586-469-5372 or go to the Immunization Clinics webpage to learn more about vaccination services available.
Clinton County residents: Call 989-224-2195 to schedule an MMR vaccine or go to https://www.mmdhd.org/immunizations/ for more details.
Gratiot County residents: Call 989-875-3681 to schedule an MMR vaccine or go to https://www.mmdhd.org/immunizations/ for more details.
Montcalm County residents: Call 989-831-5237 to schedule an MMR vaccine or go to https://www.mmdhd.org/immunizations/ for more details.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Montcalm County has Michigan's first measles outbreak of 2025
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