OHIO — The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) reported the first confirmed measles case in the state for the year.

ODH said the infected adult is from Ashtabula County and was unvaccinated. The person had contact with someone who had recently traveled internationally.

What You Need To Know

  • The Ohio Department of Health confirmed the first measles case of 2025

  • The individual is an unvaccinated adult in Ashtabula County

  • Health departments for the state and county are working to assess potential exposures
  • Measles are extremely contagious and can spread through sneezes or coughs

“The fact that we now have a measles case in Ohio adds emphasis to the importance of being fully vaccinated,” ODH Director Dr. Bruce Vanderoff said in a news release. “This disease can be very serious, but it is preventable. I strongly encourage you to protect yourselves and your children by getting vaccinated.”

The department is working with the Ashtabula County Health Department to determine potential exposures and to offer vaccination opportunities.

In 2022, Ohio had a measles outbreak, with central Ohio totaling in at 85 cases. That year, the state had 90 cases overall. In 2023, Ohio only had one measles case before climbing up to seven cases in 2024.

Currently, there are ongoing measles outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico.

Measles are extremely contagious and can spread through sneezes or coughs from an infected individual. If people are not protected against the disease, nine out of 10 people will become ill, ODH said.

The virus can live for up to two hours in the air where an infected person sneezed or coughed. Others who breathe in the contaminated air, or touch an infected surface and then their eyes, nose or mouth, can become infected.

Those infected can spread it to others from four days before, through four days after, a rash appears.

Officials urged people to vaccinate against measles through the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella. The department said two doses of MMR are 97% effective against measles and significantly lowers the risk of getting sick.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended children get two doses of the vaccine as well, with the first dose at 12- to 15-months-old and the second at four- to six-years-old. The vaccine can also be given to adults whose vaccination status is unknown, or those born after 1957 who are not vaccinated.

Earlier this week, Vanderoff held a news conference discussing Ohio’s childhood immunization rates.

Symptoms of measles include a rash that lasts for five to six days, high fever, runny nose, cough, loss of appetite and red, watery eyes. The rash begins at the hairline, moves to the face and upper neck and then proceeds down. Other common complications include diarrhea and ear infections.

Severe complications can occur, mostly in children under 5-years-old, adults older that 20, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems. One out of every 20 children with measles gets pneumonia, which is the most common cause of death from measles for young children.