ST. LOUIS —The Illinois Department of Public Health says it has confirmed the first case of measles in southern Illinois.

"The case, involving an adult in far southern Illinois, was confirmed through laboratory testing on April 23. This is the only case IDPH is aware of and this is not considered an outbreak at this time," the organization said in a press release.

The Department is currently working on locating any exposure locations, along with identifying patients who may have been exposed at the clinic the carrier went to.

“This first reported case of measles in Illinois in 2025 is a reminder to our Illinois residents that this disease can be prevented with up-to-date vaccination,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra in a press release. “With hundreds of cases being reported nationally, we have been working closely with our local public health and health care partners to prepare for any potential measles cases in Illinois. IDPH is urging medical providers to consider a measles diagnosis in patients with consistent symptoms and alert their local health department immediately if they suspect a case.”

• Most people are vaccinated routinely in childhood and are not at high risk of measles
• After exposure to someone with measles, symptoms can take from seven to 21 days to show up
• IDPH advises that for people traveling internationally or to a U.S. state with a measles outbreak, it is especially important to check vaccination records
• Unvaccinated or under-vaccinated individuals should ideally receive their vaccine at least two weeks prior to travel to an area with a high risk of measles

The new Measles Outbreak Simulator Dashboard makes it easy for the public to find out the measles vaccination rate in any school in Illinois, public or private, and to determine the risk of a child being exposed to measles if a case is introduced in their school.

All information in this article was gathered via a press release from the Illinois Department of Public Health.