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(Des Moines, IA) -- The United States has recorded 982 confirmed measles cases in the first two months of 2026, a pace that health experts say is unusually rapid.
“Last year we had about over 2,000 case in a whole year, this year just thus far is almost a thousand cases in just a couple months, the rapidity of spread and the infectiousness of measles, the cases will rapidly increase,” said Dr. Aneesa Afroze, Director of Infection Prevention with MercyOne Des Moines.
Measles symptoms typically begin with fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes, followed by a rash.
According to the CDC, the rise in cases coincides with declining vaccination rates. Approximately 94% of those infected were unvaccinated. Afroze says the best prevention for measles is vaccination, given how contagious the disease is.
Iowa has not reported any measles cases in 2026, but because measles is highly contagious, Afroze believes Iowa will see cases soon.
“Every state is going to be hit again, we should expect it at any time that we might see a patient in our urgent care or in one of our emergency department or in one of our clinics, even traveling to these other states could be a risk factor,” said Afroze.
Iowa reported nine cases in 2025.