The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said Friday that two case of the measles have been diagnosed in state residents.
It’s the first report of measles in the state since a case was reported here in 2024.
One case was diagnosed in an adult who lives in Greater Boston, according to the DPH. The person recently returned from international travel and state officials did not know the person’s vaccination history. DPH officials are in the process of alerting people at various locations where the individual had recently visited to notify those who may have been exposed.
The other case was reported in a school-aged resident who was exposed and diagnosed out-of-state, and remains out of state during the infectious period.
News of the presence of the disease in Massachusetts didn’t come as a surprise to Dr. Angela Fowler, associate medical director for Vaccine Preventable Disease at the state DPH.
“What we’ve seen is over the past few years, measles cases abroad have increased substantially for a number of reasons, but in part because of the disruption to the administration of childhood vaccines due to the pandemic,” said Fowler, “Because there’s more measles circulating abroad, when U.S. residents go abroad and visit, there’s a higher likelihood of encountering measles.”
Fowler underscored the importance of early childhood measles vaccination. According to the DPH’s vaccine schedule, children should receive two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine before entering school.
“I think that it’s something that we should pay attention to,” she said. “ I think people should know that measles can be a very serious illness. It can result in complications and over 30% of people who are infected, these complications can be serious, such as pneumonia, immune dysfunction leading to other infections, including encephalitis.”
The most serious cases can result in death, she said. Pregnant people are among those at higher risk of having serious measles complication, young infants and people who are immunocompromised.
“Our first two measles cases in 2026 demonstrate the impact that the measles outbreaks, nationally and internationally, can have here at home,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, PhD. “Fortunately, thanks to high vaccination rates, the risk to most Massachusetts residents remains low.”
Goldstein said the two cases underscore a large national outbreak of measles and a “very large” international outbreak.
He said there’s no evidence yet that measles has spread in Massachusetts, but warned that additional cases may occur.
People who have had measles, or who have been vaccinated against measles per the DPH Guidance for Vaccines, are considered immune.
Early symptoms of measles occur 10 days to two weeks after exposure and may resemble a cold (cough, runny nose, and red eyes), usually with fever. A rash occurs between two and four days after the initial symptoms develop. The rash usually appears first on the head, and then moves downward. The rash typically lasts a few days and then disappears in the same order.
People with measles may be contagious up to four days before the rash appears and four days after the day the rash appears. Complications occur in approximately 30% of infected individuals, including immune suppression, pneumonia, diarrhea, and encephalitis, which may be life-threatening.
Anyone exposed to measles that has not been vaccinated are at risk for developing measles and will need to avoid all public activities until they are no longer at risk of developing disease.
DPH said people who are unvaccinated will need to miss daycare, school, work, and other activities.
For further information, visit the DPH website.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
