Birmingham, Ala. (Aug. 28, 2025) — The Alabama Department of Public Health has announced the first measles case in Alabama since 2002. A spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Public Health reports that a child under the age of 5 living in North Alabama has been confirmed to have contracted measles. The child was not vaccinated and had traveled outside of the United States. The child’s siblings have been vaccinated and have not had any measles symptoms.
In a previous interview, Dr. David Kimberlin, Vice Chair of Translational Research and Co-Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, stated that measles is an age-old infection. He says new parents may not be as familiar with it as their own parents and grandparents. He also notes that one of the most challenging aspects of measles is that people can start spreading the virus up to four days before they develop symptoms. People with weak immune systems can carry the measles virus for a longer period.
Some of the symptoms of measles include:
Bad Cough
Congestion
Red Eyes
High Fever
Rash on Face
Children may also develop Koplik’s spots (small, red spots with blue-white centers) inside their mouths before the rash appears.
Measles can spread when people breathe in or have contact with virus-infected fluid. It can pass through droplets sprayed into the air when someone with measles sneezes or coughs. Symptoms usually appear 7-14 days later.
Health experts are reminding parents to make sure their children are up to date with their measles vaccination. They say if exposed, unvaccinated people have a 90 percent chance of being infected, and infected people can spread the disease several days before becoming symptomatic.
For most children, measles protection is part of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) or the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine (MMRV), which is given when children are 12 to 15 months old and again when they are four to six years old. The first vaccine can be given to babies as young as six months old if they are traveling internationally. About 93% of people achieve immunity during their first vaccination; the rest develop it after receiving the vaccine a second time. Immunity lasts a lifetime.
Parents should call their doctor right away if they think their child has measles or if their child has been around someone who has measles, especially if their child is an infant, is taking medication that suppresses the immune system, has tuberculosis, cancer, or a disease that affects the immune system, or hasn’t gotten two doses of the measles vaccine.
Previous Stories:
Health experts warn parents about the rise in measles cases | Children's of Alabama
Measles Myths: Measles Myths
