The press conference from the IDPH is expected to take place at 10 a.m. Friday. It will be streamed in the video above once it begins.
As the U.S. records its worth year for measles spread since 2019, the Illinois Department of Public Health Friday will hold an update on the status of the highly contagious virus with cases across the state.
The latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed a total of 1,288 cases so far in 2025. That’s 14 more cases than in all of 2019, when the U.S. almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.
A vast majority of this year’s cases are from Texas, where a major outbreak raged through the late winter and spring. Other states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah. Missouri confirmed its first outbreak July 3.
There’ve been three deaths in the U.S. this year, and all were unvaccinated: two elementary school-aged children in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico.
Measles cases in Illinois
As of June 13, Illinois recorded 10 cases of measles so far this year, the IDPH website said. Those cases span Southern Illinois and suburban Cook County, when one person infected with measles was believed to have traveled through O’Hare Airport.
While the state previously listed more information about where measles cases were recorded in the state, the site was not updated as of Friday.
In 2024, the number of measles cases spiked to 67. Those numbers were mostly linked outbreaks at migrant shelters in Chicago.
Prior to that, Illinois’ numbers have been low. In 2023, five measles cases were recorded in the state. From 2020 to 2022, no measles cases were reported.
What to know about the measles vaccine
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.
The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.
People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have “presumptive immunity.”
Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — due to “herd immunity.” But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.
What are the symptoms of measles?
Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.
The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.
Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.
Health,Region: Chicago,City: Chicago
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July 11, 2025 at 08:56AM
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