Measles cases spread in Kansas, now reported in 10 counties
The number of measles cases continue to climb in Kansas, with the state reporting that another patient was hospitalized because of the highly contagious disease, according to Kansas health officials.
The state saw eight new cases, bringing to the total number to 56 cases as of Wednesday, up from 48 cases a week ago, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s 2025 Kansas Measles Case Data dashboard.
The number of hospitalizations now stands at two. There have been no deaths so far.
The vast majority of cases, 54, are related to the outbreak that is concentrated in the southwestern part of Kansas. Measles cases have been reported in eight counties in that area: Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Haskell, Kiowa, Morton and Stevens counties.
Two cases, however, have been reported in the past week in the Wichita and Hutchinson areas, raising the number of counties where measles has been reported to 10. Reno and Sedgwick counties were added to the list this past week.
Majority of cases involve white patients
The KDHE has updated its dashboard, which shows overall numbers of cases as well as those related to the outbreak in southwest Kansas.
The data shows that overall, white patients, at 47 cases, account for the majority of cases. The race for the other nine cases are listed as “other race” or unknown. Of the cases where race is listed as white, 42 are listed as being not Hispanic or Latino.
Children and teens comprise the majority of cases, with 19 involving children 4 years and younger, 16 involving children between 5 an 10, 6 involving children between 11 and 13 and 4 between 14 and 17. The remaining 11 cases include people 18 and older.
The updated dashboard does not include overall vaccination rates. However, for the cases related to the outbreak in southwest Kansas, the majority of cases, 46, involve patients who were not vaccinated, not fully vaccinated for their age, or received a dose after being exposed to measles.
Five cases involve patients who had been appropriately vaccinated, and three involved patients who could not verify their vaccination status.
The updated dashboard includes locations where the public might have been exposed. There are four active exposure locations:
- B&P Autoparts, 515 S. Main Street, Cimarron, on May 2, 5 and 6. The ending date to watch for symptoms is May 23, 26 and 27, respectively.
- Hutchinson Public Library, 901 N. Main Street, Hutchinson, between 2 and 5 p.m. May 3. The ending date to watch for symptoms is May 24.
- Carnicerías El Güero grocery store No. 1 at 524 W 21st St. N., Wichita, between 6:30 and 10 p.m. April 29. The ending date to watch for symptoms is May 20.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, 2277 Eisenhower Airport Parkway, between 6:15 and 9 p.m. May 2. The ending date to watch for symptoms is May 23.
Number of measles cases exceeds 1,000 in U.S.
As of May 8, officials are reporting a total of 1,001 confirmed measles cases, up from nearly 935 measles cases as of May 1, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By comparison, there were 285 measles cases reported in 2024.
Measles have now been reported in 30 states: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York State, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
By comparison, there were 285 measles cases reported in 2024 in 31 states and Washington D.C.
There have been 14 outbreaks reported this year, with 93% of confirmed cases, 928, being outbreak-associated.
About 30% of the cases involve children under the age of 5, 38% involve patients 5 to 19, and 31% include adults 20 and older, according to the CDC. About 96% of the cases include unvaccinated patients or those whose vaccination status was unknown. Another 2% involved patients who had received only one dose of the MMR vaccination.
There have been 126 hospitalizations, or 13% of all cases. There have been three confirmed deaths.
This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 2:25 PM.
