Measles has spread to another Ohio county and another with a near double-digit increase as Ohio's third measles outbreak of 2026 continues.
The state had 22 new cases in the past week, a 120% increase from the 10 new cases reported the week before, the Ohio Department of Health reports.
ODH is reporting 228 cases in 21 counties so far this year, according to its summary of infectious diseases dashboard, updated Oct. 8. That number is 406% greater than the 45 cases reported in all of 2025.
Total cases in Ohio this year have increased in recent weeks:
- 206 cases in 20 counties on Oct. 1
- 196 cases in 16 counties on Sept. 24
- 180 cases in 15 counties on Sept. 17
- 133 cases in 15 counties on Sept. 10
- 122 cases in 14 counties on Sept. 3
- 107 cases in 12 counties on Aug. 27
- 99 cases in 12 counties Aug. 20
- 69 cases in 11 counties on Aug. 13
- 45 cases in 10 counties on Aug. 6.
Hancock County is the latest in Ohio to record a new measles cases. Additionally, five cases were attributed to unknown counties for the first time. This a week after Ashland, Stark, Vinton and Wood
counties all joined the list.
The vast majority of cases in Ohio are among unvaccinated individuals, per ODH.
“It’s unfortunate that these outbreaks have become more common in Ohio over the past few years, because this disease is preventable,” Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, ODH director, said a July 30 statement. “This serves to emphasize the importance of being fully vaccinated. I strongly encourage you to protect yourselves and your children by getting vaccinated.”
Measles cases nationwide have hit a 35-year high for a disease once declared eradicated in the United States. Data released Oct. 7 by the Johns Hopkins University shows 4,020 measles cases have been reported nationwide so far this year, surpassing the 2,286 infections recorded during all of 2025 and marking the highest annual total since 1991.
Measles growing in Ohio; counties reporting cases in 2026
Ohio counties reporting measles cases since Jan. 1, 2026, include:
- Ashland: 1
- Ashtabula: 41 (nine new cases)
- Cuyahoga: 3
- Franklin: 7
- Gallia: 3
- Geauga: 50 (one new case)
- Hancock: 1 (one new case, first time on list)
- Harrison: 13 (two new cases)
- Holmes: 9
- Knox: 5
- Meigs: 4
- Morgan: 3
- Morrow: 12 (three new cases)
- Ottawa: 1
- Portage: 1
- Stark: 1
- Trumbull: 8
- Tuscarawas: 13
- Vinton: 1
- Wayne: 45 (one new case)
- Wood: 1
- Unknown county: 5 (five new cases)
The case count for the year reflects previous outbreaks in Cuyahoga County in January and Franklin County in February. The ages of those with confirmed cases range from 15 months to 20 years old, according to various health departments.
Measles cases have been growing in Ohio over the past several years, with one case in 2023, seven in 2024 and 45 cases in 2025.
Pennsylvania reports measles deaths
At least five people this year have died from measles in Pennsylvania as of Sept. 30, 2026, according to USA TODAY. None of the individuals were vaccinated, USA TODAY reports.
The first two measles deaths were the first in Pennsylvania in 35 years, the state Department of Health said in an Aug. 25 news release, and the first such deaths in the United States this year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Where are measles cases spreading in Ohio?
Portage County confirmed its first measles case, the county Health District announced Sept. 8. At the time, no public exposure locations associated with this case had been identified.
Harrison County Public Health reported one case of measles as of Aug. 7, but the state dashboard shows additional cases there.
Hancock County Public Health reported one measles case in Findlay with possible exposure to the public at NWO Urgent Care on September 29 from 2:30–5:30 p.m. and Blanchard Valley Hospital Emergency Department the same day from 3:30–6:30 p.m.
Geauga Public Health reports that the individuals with measles visited several locations while able to spread the virus, including Bloomfield Horse Sale, 2211 Kinsman Road NW, on July 18. The Tuscarawas health department reports that another of its cases was exposed at the Bloomfield Livestock Auction, at the same address as Bloomfield Horse Sale, on on the same day.
Measles cases hit 35-year high in United States
The United States declared measles eliminated in 2000 after recording just 86 cases that year, according to USA TODAY, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But a series of outbreaks that began in early 2025, centered initially in Gaines County, Texas, has helped drive the virus' resurgence.
Health experts say the recent surge has been fueled by declining vaccination rates that have left more communities vulnerable to outbreaks.
Measles cases on the rise as Ohio vaccination rates fluctuate in state, U.S.
Vaccination for measles has declined in recent years, resulting in a growing number of states no longer reporting rates consistent with herd immunity. Herd immunity occurs when more than 95% of people in a community are vaccinated. Most people are then protected, even if they cannot get the vaccine themselves, because those around them are immune and cannot spread the disease.
Ohio's vaccination rate for the 2025-26 school year slipped well below the herd immunity threshold, making it susceptible to outbreaks.
Vaccination coverage among U.S. kindergartners decreased from 95.2% during the 2019–20 school year to 92.5% in the 2024–25 school year, well under the threshold necessary for effective herd immunity, according to the CDC.
In Ohio, MMR vaccine — which protects against measles, mumps and rubella — coverage rate for children and adolescents was 91.5% for 2023. Previous years ranged from an 80% to 90% immunization rate:
- 2019: 81.8%
- 2020: 88.0%
- 2021: 91.7%
- 2022: 89.0%
Declining protections have also been attributed to the growing anti-vaccine movement, which was bolstered by the confirmation of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary. In addition to making anti-vaccine comments, Kennedy also downplayed pediatric deaths related to measles and touted false cures and preventive measures, such as the use of vitamin A. During the height of the Texas outbreak, Kennedy encouraged inoculation against measles, pulling back from his previous anti-vaccine messaging. Kennedy is now encouraging the measles vaccine.
Trump signs executive order to separate MMR vaccine
President Donald Trump in August 2026 signed an executive order to split the childhood measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three shots and delivering them at separate medical visits as well as "calling for more vaccine flexibility and research" and fewer childhood vaccinations, according to USA TODAY.
"You have the MMR, we want it in three separate vaccinations, given at separate times. Together there could be a possibility they're quite lethal and separately, it looks like they are not at all lethal, but just very effective," said Trump from the Oval Office as he signed the order.
But the MMR vaccine is not lethal, and medical research shows no health benefit or reduced risk from splitting it. In contrast, separating the shots increases injection pain, leaves children unprotected longer, and lowers overall vaccination rates, according to experts. The MMR vaccine has been in existence since 1971, according to the World Health Organization.
Can you get measles if vaccinated?
Two doses of MMR are 97% effective against measles, ODH reports. If you are up to date on the measles vaccine, the risk of getting sick is very low.
Are measles deadly?
Measles can be deadly. ODH states that complications from measles are more common among children younger than 5 years of age, adults older than 20 years of age, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems. As many as one out of every 20 children with measles gets pneumonia, the most common cause of death from measles in young children.
What does measles look like? Signs, symptoms
Symptoms usually appear seven to 14 days after exposure, but it can take up to 21 days. Symptoms include a rash, high fever, runny nose, cough, loss of appetite and red, watery eyes. The rash usually lasts five to six days and begins at the hairline, moves to the face and upper neck, and proceeds down the body. Diarrhea and ear infections are common complications of measles. More severe complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis, a swelling of the brain, may also occur.
The measles virus can live for up to two hours in air where an infected person coughed or sneezed. If other people breathe the contaminated air or touch an infected surface and then touch their eyes, noses, or mouths, they can become infected. People infected with measles can spread it to others from four days before, through four days after, a rash appears.
Are measles itchy?
Not usually, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
How to protect yourself against measles
Both ODH and the CDC say the best way to protect yourself against measles is to be vaccinated.
USA TODAY reporters James Powel and Mary Walrath-Holdridge contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio measles cases increase 400% from last year in latest ODH update
