Kentucky has a measles outbreak, according to the state’s Department for Public Health. 

The state confirmed 15 cases in Christian, Owen, Todd, Trigg, and Washington Counties in the last four days, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services said Tuesday.

“Working with local health departments, the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) is actively investigating and expects case numbers and counties associated with the outbreak to increase,” the cabinet said. Earlier this year, four cases of measles were reported in Jessamine County.

This year’s total number of cases is the most the state has seen since 1991, according to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. All 19 cases from this year are in individuals who are either unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown, according to the state’s measles dashboard. An outbreak is defined as three or more related cases by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

According to the dashboard, 10 cases were discovered in Christian County. Other counties with confirmed cases are Jessamine, with four cases, Trigg County, with two, and Owen, Todd and Washington, which have (or had) one case each.

Of the 19 known cases this year:

• Five are/were in children 5 years old or younger. 
• Ten are/were in children between the ages of 5 and 17.  
• Four are/were in people 18 years old and older. 

There have been two measles hospitalizations and no deaths this year. Measles is extremely contagious and spread through the air from coughs or sneezes, according to the CDC. One infected person can infect nine in 10 unprotected people around them. 

Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash. The best protection against measles is the measles vaccination, which is generally available at pharmacies and through medical providers. The CDC recommends the measles vaccination series at 12-15 months and then at 4-6 years old. 

Vaccinations have declined recently even as the United States is facing an outbreak larger than any since measles “was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000,” the Cabinet for Health and Family Services previously said.  

“This is the largest measles outbreak Kentucky has experienced in many years,” Dr. Steven Stack, the cabinet secretary, said in a statement. “Measles is almost entirely preventable for those who have had two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and we urge all parents and caregivers to make sure their children are immunized, so they are protected against this serious, sometimes life-threatening illness.”

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