ADPH announces first case of measles in Alabama since 2002 08.27.25

August 27, 2025

ADPH announces first case of measles in Alabama since 2002

MOBILE, Ala. — The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) was notified Monday that a child under 5 years of age living in northern Alabama has been confirmed to have measles. The unvaccinated child contracted measles while traveling out of the United States.

The child did not attend daycare or school, and entities involved in the management and treatment of the patient have been notified. The siblings of the child have been vaccinated and have not had any symptoms of measles. The full news release is at https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/blog/2025/08/nr-25.html.

ADPH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Karen Landers reminds parents to make sure their children are up to date with their measles vaccinations. If exposed, unvaccinated people have a 90 percent chance of becoming infected, and infected people can spread the disease several days before becoming symptomatic.

“Vaccines protect what matters most,” said Dr. Kevin Michaels, Health Officer for Mobile County. “The MMR vaccine is your best defense against measles. We need to stay up to date on school aged vaccines for children.”

Many individuals will be encountering travelers from across the United States and even globally. Measles is present internationally as well as in the United States. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97 percent effective in presenting measles, while one dose is 93 percent effective.

Being unvaccinated puts your children and others at risk from severe complications to include lung and brain infections and in some cases death. Most common complications are diarrhea and ear infections making the individual feel even worse after the fever, cough, and congestion.

If you have a fever, cough, congestion, or eye irritation — along with a rash of both flat and raised skin lesions which begin on the head and spread downward — you should immediately isolate and communicate with a medical provider via telephone. The medical community can provide immediate assistance and make accommodations to have the sick individual evaluated further in a clinic.

“Just do not show up in the clinic or emergency room without any prior communication,” Dr. Michaels said. “There might be others who are not vaccinated and at increased risk for complications.”

If you are in doubt of your vaccination status or need to be vaccinated, see your local health care clinic. If the clinic does not have the vaccine, then many local pharmacies carry vaccines.

Guidelines for vaccine eligibility, and other measles information, can be found at the measles page on the ADPH website (https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/immunization/measles.html).