Three reported measles cases in southeast Michigan have state health officials encouraging people who aren’t vaccinated against that virus to get their shots.
All the cases so far have been in individuals who traveled abroad — two adults in Washtenaw and Wayne counties, and a child in Oakland County. Washtenaw County health officials said the case there is a person whose vaccination status is unknown. The cases don’t appear to be connected to each other.
But officials worry they could help fuel measles outbreaks like those reported in other states. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, as of March 1 there have been 41 measles cases reported in 2024 across 16 states.
Measles is extremely transmissible, according to Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive. “It's transmitted through minuscule airborne particles, and it has a very high attack rate,” she said. “And what that means is that when susceptible individuals are exposed to measles, the vast majority of them develop the illness.”
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says that 90% of unvaccinated people who are exposed to measles will contract it, and one in five infected will need hospitalization. Symptoms of measles include a high fever, cough, conjunctivitis (red, watery eyes), and a blotchy red rash with raised spots that usually starts on the face and spreads across the body after several days.
Another factor fueling outbreak concerns is Michigan’s declining routine childhood immunization rate, which has dropped off since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Bagdasarian said in 2023, only around 66% of Michigan children aged 19-35 months had received the recommended doses of primary vaccines, compared to more than 75% prior to the start of the pandemic. “And that means that fewer of our young children are protected against diseases like measles or polio,” she said.
Childhood vaccination rates vary across the state by race and geography as well. The most recent data from the Michigan Care Improvement Registry show that only about 65% of Black children received the primary childhood vaccine series, which includes the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, compared to just under 80% of white children. Vaccination rates are lowest in Oscoda and Keewenaw counties along with the city of Detroit, while Ontonagon, Midland, and Kent counties have the highest rates.
Two doses of the MMR vaccine generally confer lifetime immunity. But there is a caveat to that: people vaccinated between 1963 and 1967 may have received an improper version of the measles vaccine, and should strongly consider reimmunization for full protection. Also, since the vaccine only became widely available in 1963, some older adults may have natural immunity from childhood exposure, but others are completely unprotected.
In addition, “some individuals with weakened immune systems may not be eligible to receive this vaccine,” MDHHS said in a release. “Getting vaccinated not only protects the individual receiving the vaccine but can also protect vulnerable individuals in our communities from being exposed to this illness.”
Editor's note: this story has been updated to clarify that the Washtenaw County measles case is in a person whose vaccination status is unknown.
