Montcalm County reports Michigan's first measles outbreak of 2025
Montcalm County is reporting Michigan's first measles outbreak of 2025, with two additional cases confirmed Thursday.
Brady Guilbault, the public information officer for the Mid-Michigan District Health Department, confirmed on April 17 that the two latest cases are tied to an initial case that was reported on April 9. That initial case was in a person known to have recently traveled out of state.
It's the state's first confirmed measles outbreak since 2019. There are currently seven confirmed cases of measles in Michigan in 2025.
There are four other counties where there have been recent measles cases in Michigan: Ingham County, Macomb County, Kent County and Oakland County.
Three or more related cases of measles are considered an outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some of the cases involved people who had traveled shortly before their diagnosis, which means others were possibly infected or had close calls.
"This outbreak underscores how contagious measles is and how quickly it can spread," said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive. "The MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine remains our best defense, and two doses of MMR offer 97% protection against measles. We urge all Michigan residents to check their vaccination records to ensure they are up to date with the MMR vaccine."
What are the symptoms of measles?
Measles is highly contagious and is spread through the air and by person-to-person contact and, according to MDHHS, "can live for up to two hours in the air where the infected person was present." Symptoms usually present 7-14 days after exposure, but they can appear up to 21 days later.
Symptoms of measles include:
- High fever (may spike to over 104˚F).
- Cough.
- Runny nose.
- Red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis).
- Tiny white spots on the inner cheeks, gums and roof of the mouth (Koplik Spots) two to three days after symptoms begin.
- A rash that is red, raised, blotchy; usually starts on face, spreads to trunk, arms and legs three to five days after symptoms begin.
MDHHS recommends that any unvaccinated people aged 1 year or older receive the measles vaccine.
