The first confirmed case of measles within the state of Missouri in 2025 was announced today.
The case was diagnosed in a child visiting Taney County in southern Missouri who had recently traveled abroad.
The population center of Taney County is Branson, which is known for tourist attractions, such as Silver Dollar City and live entertainment.
According to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, there’s no evidence of widespread exposure associated with this case as it was diagnosed soon after the child entered the county.
Nathan Koffarnus, an epidemiologist with the department, said it’s important to remember that measles is incredibly transmissible in those who are unvaccinated.
“People who’ve already been vaccinated, so, older children, adults, they're not getting less vaccinated. It's not going away,” Koffarnus said. “So, where the gap is, where the increase in unvaccinated individuals is – it's in the young children.”
Herd immunity from a disease is achieved when 95% of a population is vaccinated, but, Koffarnus said the number of people completing the two-dose series of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine has been falling for years.
The 2024 statewide rate for MMR vaccination is only 90.14%, and for Taney County it’s even lower – just 83.54%.
“The issue that we have to be concerned of is not, “Are we going to have some huge population wide outbreak in Missouri?’” Koffarnus said. “But are we going to have a pocket in a community where, you know, maybe even hundreds of people are all spreading this to each other because none of them chose to get vaccinated or vaccinate their children.”
Symptoms of measles typically appear seven to 14 days after exposure, and can include a cough, runny nose, pinkeye and a distinctive rash that begins at the hairline.
Missouri is just one of the more than 20 states now included in the large measles outbreak across the country this year.
As of April 17, there have been 800 confirmed cases across 25 US jurisdictions. 11% of those people have been vaccinated, and there have been 2 confirmed deaths associated with this outbreak.
In comparison, there were just 285 cases of measles reported across the county in all of 2024.
