Measles cases in Minnesota have risen sharply in a week, and health officials in the state are preparing for the virus to spread further. The Minnesota Department of Health reported 59 new measles cases on Thursday, 5 November, bringing the total for 2026 to 139. It is the highest number the state has seen in a single year since 1990. Nearly all of the cases have been reported since mid-September. The Minnesota measles outbreak is centred on Todd County, a rural county in central Minnesota with a population of about 25,000 people. The county has reported 115 of the 139 cases this year. Only 60 percent of babies born in Todd County in 2023 were vaccinated, compared with a statewide average of about 80 percent.
Where the Minnesota measles outbreak is spreading
Todd County reported its first measles case on 1 October, an adult who was infected while travelling within the United States. The count in the county rose from 19 cases in mid-October to 57 by 29 October, and to 115 by 5 November. Fillmore County in southeastern Minnesota has six cases, and one case in Scott County was tied to international travel. The Minnesota measles outbreak has now reached eight counties. Most of the people infected are children. Of the 80 cases reported by 29 October, 71 percent were under 18 years old. All but two of those 80 cases were in people who had not received two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The department has said everyone sickened in the fall outbreaks was unvaccinated. State health officials expect more cases. People can develop measles up to 21 days after exposure, so cases tied to late October exposures could still appear through mid-November, and the department updates its counts weekly.
How Minnesota health officials are preparing
Doctors and clinics in central Minnesota are getting ready for the Minnesota measles outbreak to reach them. Dr. Kim Tjaden, a family physician with CentraCare in St. Cloud, said measles cases in Stearns County feel more like a matter of when than if, and she and her team are preparing. The health department is working with local health departments on wider vaccination outreach, including mobile clinics and community events for families who have not vaccinated their children. The department is also training health care providers to spot the early signs of measles and to talk with patients about vaccination. “The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is well-tested, highly effective and provides long-lasting protection,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Brooke Cunningham. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97 percent effective at preventing Minnesota measles. Public health officials say about 95 percent of a community needs to be vaccinated to stop sustained spread. Todd County has the lowest MMR vaccination rate in the state for children born in 2023.
Why the Minnesota measles outbreak looks different
Health officials say the pattern of Minnesota measles has changed. In recent years, international travel would lead to a small number of cases in the Twin Cities area that were easier to contain. Now people are picking up the disease and bringing it back to Minnesota from elsewhere in the United States. Sarah Parilla, who manages the vaccine preventable diseases section at the Minnesota Department of Health, said the source of spread has shifted from travel abroad to travel within the country. With more than 4,500 measles cases reported in the United States so far this year, health officials expect the Minnesota measles outbreak to keep growing. The state reported 80 cases by 29 October, then added 59 more in a week. Todd County alone now has more than twice as many measles cases as Minnesota reported in all of 2025. MPR News found that doubt about vaccines, distrust of government and limited familiarity with measles have shaped vaccination decisions among some families in the county.
How Minnesota measles spreads
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known. It spreads through the air and can stay in a room for up to two hours after an infected person leaves, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Up to nine in ten unprotected people who are exposed will become infected. The illness usually starts with fever, cough and a rash, and it can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and death, above all in young children and people with weak immune systems. The health department urges anyone who has not been vaccinated against measles to get vaccinated, and says pockets of unvaccinated people remain across Minnesota. Families who think they may have been exposed should call a clinic or the health department before visiting in person, so staff can take steps to keep the Minnesota measles virus from spreading in a waiting room.