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CNN
10-05-2025
- Health
- CNN
Measles outbreak in North Dakota prompts local health officials to quarantine unvaccinated schoolchildren
Source: CNN Measles cases continue to accumulate in the United States in what is already the second-worst year since the disease was declared eliminated a quarter-century ago. Now, a recent outbreak in one North Dakota county has led local health officials to quarantine nearly 200 unvaccinated students. North Dakota has reported nine measles cases this year, and a recent outbreak among schoolchildren in Williams County in the northwest part of the state has led local health officials to enforce a law that requires unvaccinated students to quarantine for 21 days after exposure to someone who has the virus. The move was taken by local public health officers in the Upper Missouri District Health Unit, and the state health department is assisting with mitigation efforts. On Tuesday, families of 188 unvaccinated students in the Williston Basin School District No. 7 received a letter informing them that their children would need to quarantine for three weeks. About two weeks earlier, district nurse coordinator Lynn Douglas had sent a letter to all families in anticipation of an outbreak, preemptively outlining the quarantine procedure and highlighting the importance of prevention, including vaccination. 'Williston Basin School District #7 plays a very important role in the health and well-being of our students,' Douglas said in an email to CNN. 'Having vaccine-preventable diseases circulating within a school would lead to large numbers of school absences and adversely affect the health of our students.' 'While even a small drop in immunization rates can lead to outbreaks, unvaccinated students are at significant risk of serious illness and complications from measles, which are highly contagious and preventable diseases,' she said. 'WBSD #7 prioritizes student safety by taking measures to protect unvaccinated students and prevent the spread of illness to themselves, their families, and others and in order to do this, students must be excluded.' There have been at least 1,018 measles cases reported in the US in 2025, according to a CNN tally using data from state health departments and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC publishes data on measles cases each Friday, but it has stopped providing details on the specific number of cases in each state, and its national total does not always capture the latest updates from states. The vast majority of these cases – at least 845 – are associated with an outbreak centered in West Texas that has expanded to New Mexico, Oklahoma and possibly Kansas. Texas has reported 709 outbreak-associated cases, New Mexico reported 71 cases, and Oklahoma reported 17 cases – 14 confirmed and three probable – as of Friday. Cases in Kansas, which the state health department says may be linked to the outbreak, have reached 48 as of Wednesday. Experts say these numbers are all a severe undercount because many cases are going unreported. Since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, 2019 is only other year in which there were more than 1,000 cases, driven by large outbreaks in New York City and a nearby suburb. There were 1,274 confirmed measles cases that year, according to the CDC, only about 250 more than have been reported so far in 2025. Nationwide, CDC data shows that 126 people have been hospitalized with measles this year – about 13% of all cases – and there have been three confirmed deaths associated with the large multistate outbreak: two children in Texas and one adult in New Mexico, all of whom were unvaccinated. The vast majority of cases in the US this year have been in people who are unvaccinated; only about 4% of confirmed cases have been in people who had received one or two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to the CDC. There have been 14 total outbreaks this year, and 30 states have reported at least one case, according to the CDC. See Full Web Article
CNN
09-05-2025
- Health
- CNN
Measles outbreak in North Dakota prompts local health officials to quarantine unvaccinated schoolchildren
Vaccines Federal agencies Student lifeFacebookTweetLink Follow Measles cases continue to accumulate in the United States in what is already the second-worst year since the disease was declared eliminated a quarter-century ago. Now, a recent outbreak in one North Dakota county has led local health officials to quarantine nearly 200 unvaccinated students. North Dakota has reported nine measles cases this year, and a recent outbreak among schoolchildren in Williams County in the northwest part of the state has led local health officials to enforce a law that requires unvaccinated students to quarantine for 21 days after exposure to someone who has the virus. The move was taken by local public health officers in the Upper Missouri District Health Unit, and the state health department is assisting with mitigation efforts. On Tuesday, families of 188 unvaccinated students in the Williston Basin School District No. 7 received a letter informing them that their children would need to quarantine for three weeks. About two weeks earlier, district nurse coordinator Lynn Douglas had sent a letter to all families in anticipation of an outbreak, preemptively outlining the quarantine procedure and highlighting the importance of prevention, including vaccination. 'Williston Basin School District #7 plays a very important role in the health and well-being of our students,' Douglas said in an email to CNN. 'Having vaccine-preventable diseases circulating within a school would lead to large numbers of school absences and adversely affect the health of our students.' 'While even a small drop in immunization rates can lead to outbreaks, unvaccinated students are at significant risk of serious illness and complications from measles, which are highly contagious and preventable diseases,' she said. 'WBSD #7 prioritizes student safety by taking measures to protect unvaccinated students and prevent the spread of illness to themselves, their families, and others and in order to do this, students must be excluded.' There have been at least 1,018 measles cases reported in the US in 2025, according to a CNN tally using data from state health departments and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC publishes data on measles cases each Friday, but it has stopped providing details on the specific number of cases in each state, and its national total does not always capture the latest updates from states. The vast majority of these cases – at least 845 – are associated with an outbreak centered in West Texas that has expanded to New Mexico, Oklahoma and possibly Kansas. Texas has reported 709 outbreak-associated cases, New Mexico reported 71 cases, and Oklahoma reported 17 cases – 14 confirmed and three probable – as of Friday. Cases in Kansas, which the state health department says may be linked to the outbreak, have reached 48 as of Wednesday. Experts say these numbers are all a severe undercount because many cases are going unreported. Since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, 2019 is only other year in which there were more than 1,000 cases, driven by large outbreaks in New York City and a nearby suburb. There were 1,274 confirmed measles cases that year, according to the CDC, only about 250 more than have been reported so far in 2025. Nationwide, CDC data shows that 126 people have been hospitalized with measles this year – about 13% of all cases – and there have been three confirmed deaths associated with the large multistate outbreak: two children in Texas and one adult in New Mexico, all of whom were unvaccinated. The vast majority of cases in the US this year have been in people who are unvaccinated; only about 4% of confirmed cases have been in people who had received one or two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to the CDC. There have been 14 total outbreaks this year, and 30 states have reported at least one case, according to the CDC.
CNN
09-05-2025
- Health
- CNN
Measles outbreak in North Dakota prompts local health officials to quarantine unvaccinated schoolchildren
Measles cases continue to accumulate in the United States in what is already the second-worst year since the disease was declared eliminated a quarter-century ago. Now, a recent outbreak in one North Dakota county has led local health officials to quarantine nearly 200 unvaccinated students. North Dakota has reported nine measles cases this year, and a recent outbreak among schoolchildren in Williams County in the northwest part of the state has led local health officials to enforce a law that requires unvaccinated students to quarantine for 21 days after exposure to someone who has the virus. The move was taken by local public health officers in the Upper Missouri District Health Unit, and the state health department is assisting with mitigation efforts. On Tuesday, families of 188 unvaccinated students in the Williston Basin School District No. 7 received a letter informing them that their children would need to quarantine for three weeks. About two weeks earlier, district nurse coordinator Lynn Douglas had sent a letter to all families in anticipation of an outbreak, preemptively outlining the quarantine procedure and highlighting the importance of prevention, including vaccination. 'Williston Basin School District #7 plays a very important role in the health and well-being of our students,' Douglas said in an email to CNN. 'Having vaccine-preventable diseases circulating within a school would lead to large numbers of school absences and adversely affect the health of our students.' 'While even a small drop in immunization rates can lead to outbreaks, unvaccinated students are at significant risk of serious illness and complications from measles, which are highly contagious and preventable diseases,' she said. 'WBSD #7 prioritizes student safety by taking measures to protect unvaccinated students and prevent the spread of illness to themselves, their families, and others and in order to do this, students must be excluded.' There have been at least 1,018 measles cases reported in the US in 2025, according to a CNN tally using data from state health departments and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC publishes data on measles cases each Friday, but it has stopped providing details on the specific number of cases in each state, and its national total does not always capture the latest updates from states. The vast majority of these cases – at least 845 – are associated with an outbreak centered in West Texas that has expanded to New Mexico, Oklahoma and possibly Kansas. Texas has reported 709 outbreak-associated cases, New Mexico reported 71 cases, and Oklahoma reported 17 cases – 14 confirmed and three probable – as of Friday. Cases in Kansas, which the state health department says may be linked to the outbreak, have reached 48 as of Wednesday. Experts say these numbers are all a severe undercount because many cases are going unreported. Since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, 2019 is only other year in which there were more than 1,000 cases, driven by large outbreaks in New York City and a nearby suburb. There were 1,274 confirmed measles cases that year, according to the CDC, only about 250 more than have been reported so far in 2025. Nationwide, CDC data shows that 126 people have been hospitalized with measles this year – about 13% of all cases – and there have been three confirmed deaths associated with the large multistate outbreak: two children in Texas and one adult in New Mexico, all of whom were unvaccinated. The vast majority of cases in the US this year have been in people who are unvaccinated; only about 4% of confirmed cases have been in people who had received one or two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to the CDC. There have been 14 total outbreaks this year, and 30 states have reported at least one case, according to the CDC.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
About 180 students under quarantine amid measles outbreak in Williams County
Blood sample positive with measles virus. (iStock / Getty Images Plus) About 180 Williston-area students are isolating at home after three schools were notified by public health officials of measles exposure on their campuses. Unvaccinated students at Missouri Ridge Elementary, Williston Middle School and Williston High School were told they need to isolate for 21 days to ensure they were not infected, said Paula Lankford, spokesperson for Williston Basin School District 7. The precaution is to prevent students from unknowingly spreading the virus to others. Health officials on Tuesday confirmed nine cases of measles in Williams County in northwest North Dakota. Daphne Clark, spokesperson for the Upper Missouri District Health Unit, said the measles cases are considered part of an outbreak because health officials believe community spread is occurring without direct contact with known carriers of the illness. Four people diagnosed with measles were in Williston schools while infectious, the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services said. The entire campuses of the affected schools were considered exposed, Lankford said. The quarantine requirement affects some unvaccinated fourth grade students who were touring Williston Middle School on the day of the exposure, Lankford said. It also affects a few other students who don't attend the affected schools but shared a bus ride with an exposed student, she said. 'Each of the schools is going to work with those families that are excluded to ensure that they have educational opportunities for their kids and connections with teachers through digital means,' Lankford said. The Williston school district has a total enrollment of about 5,300 students. Lankford encouraged parents, students or community members to contact their school or health care provider if they have questions. 'What's obviously on our side is that there is not that much school left,' Lankford said. 'We are done here on May 23rd.' If Williston High School seniors under quarantine do not show any symptoms after their 21-day isolation, they will be allowed to participate in graduation commencement at the end of May, she said. Of the confirmed cases, two are children under 10; five are between ages 10 and 19; one is between 30 and 39 and one is between 40 and 49, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The first case reported Friday was a Williams County child who is believed to have contracted measles from an out-of-state visitor. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rate for Williams County kindergarten students is 81% for the 2024-25 school year, down from 87% two years ago, according to the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services. The rate is 95% for seventh graders and 97% for 11th graders. Public health officials say 95% is needed to prevent community spread. The Upper Missouri District Health Unit, which serves Williams County as well as Divide, McKenzie and Mountrail counties, is holding walk-in vaccination clinics at 110 W. Broadway, Williston, from 1-7 p.m. Thursday and 8:30 to 6 p.m. Friday. 'I feel like we maybe will be busy,' Clark said. 'We're fielding some phone calls today with people with questions, but you never know what that'll look like when it actually becomes time.' Clark said anyone experiencing cold symptoms or anyone who has been in contact with a carrier of the illness should not attend the vaccination clinic. Clark said those people should quarantine themselves for 21 days to prevent further spread of the disease. 'I think the biggest thing is, if they are a case contact or they are sick, don't come to the clinic,' she said. The vaccinations are not free of charge, she said, so clinic attendees will want to bring their private health insurance cards with them. Depending on their ages, those without health insurance could be eligible for reduced pricing through a state-funded vaccination program. 'I think there's a lot of concern and I just recommend people go to trusted sites to get their information,' Clark said of community members who may be vaccine hesitant. She added the North Dakota Health and Human Services website is a good source for those looking for more information on the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. Those planning on attending the walk-in MMR vaccine clinic in Williston can fill out the organization's immunization consent form ahead of time to speed up the process once they arrive. The form can be found on the Upper Missouri District Health Unit website. CHI St. Alexius Health medical center in Williston also urged people with symptoms to stay home and call a health care provider prior to coming to the clinic. CHI needed to temporarily close its Williston walk-in clinic on Wednesday after a possible measles exposure was reported, according to a social media post by the health care provider. Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose, eye irritation followed by a body-wide rash. For information about measles, vaccines or local clinic availability, contact the HHS Immunization Unit at 701-328-2378 or visit Health officials also urged anyone who visited the Williston Walmart between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on April 29 to monitor for symptoms and contact a health care provider if symptoms develop. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
