First Illinois measles case in current nationwide outbreak recorded
The first Illinois case of measles in the latest nationwide outbreak has been reported.
The Illinois Department of Public Health said the case was confirmed Wednesday, and involved an adult in far southern Illinois. The county and/or town were not specified.
Officials said the case is the only case in Illinois of which they are aware at this time.
Public health officials were working to identify anyone else who might have been exposed to measles, and were urging people in Illinois to make sure they are up to date on the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.
The new measles case comes as a group called the People's Response Network is asking the Chicago Board of Education to provide vaccines at schools. Co-founder Dr. Howard Ehrman said the national measles outbreak is partly due to a lack of access to vaccines, noting many health offices no longer carry them.
"This is not the correct way to do public health. This has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people during COVID, and this is one reason why we have a major measles outbreak now," he said.
So far, there have been 800 measles cases in this outbreak, which started in Texas.
Chicago saw its own measles outbreak just last year — affecting in particular the migrant shelter in operation at the time in Pilsen. There were 67 cases reported in the March and April 2024 Chicago area outbreak altogether.
Public health officials confirmed Chicago's first case of measles since 2019 on March 7, 2024. The next day, the city saw its first measles case at the since-closed Pilsen migrant shelter at 2241 S. Halsted St.
A total of 57 migrants at the shelter ended up testing positive for measles during March and April last year. At the time, the Pilsen shelter was the city's largest shelter for asylum seekers, with approximately 1,900 migrants living there.
