Minnesota's 18th measles case of 2026 emerges near Wisconsin hotspot

Jeremy Olson, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Sep 17, 2026

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Minnesota’s streak of almost six months without a new measles case ended this week when an infection was confirmed in an unvaccinated adult in one of the state’s least-vaccinated counties.

The state’s 18th measles case of 2026 was reported Thursday in Fillmore County — not far from the southwestern Wisconsin region that has reported multiple cases in recent weeks. Whether the states’ cases are linked is unclear.

The Minnesota Department of Health on Thursday disclosed that the adult was infected while traveling through multiple states, and urged unvaccinated people to schedule their shots to protect themselves.

“It is never too late to make sure you or your child are protected from this very serious disease,” the Health Department said in a written statement.

A public health investigation is underway to identify close contacts of the infected individual who might be at risk. Measles is one of the most infectious viruses on the planet, capable of lingering in droplets in the air long after infected individuals have spread them by talking, coughing or sneezing.

A two-dose course of measles vaccine is considered 97% protective from getting sick, but fewer people have been seeking the shots for themselves and their children in recent years. Hesitancy has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, amid mixed messages from the Trump administration and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about vaccine safety.

The rate of children born in 2023 and vaccinated for measles by age 2 is less than 66% in Fillmore, a county that borders Iowa and sits one county away from Wisconsin. That is the second-lowest rate among Minnesota counties, and well below the statewide vaccination rate of 86% for this age group, according to a state dashboard.

Even with the latest case, Minnesota has been somewhat spared from the spread of measles in the U.S., which so far this year has reported 3,294 cases. That exceeds the total of 2,289 for all of 2025 and 289 in 2024.

Measles causes an itchy head-to-toe rash and can trigger fever and respiratory symptoms. About one in 10 cases requires hospitalization.

Wisconsin has been hard hit this year, reporting 164 cases so far, according to a state website. The total includes an isolated case reported on Tuesday in Marathon County in central Wisconsin, and two cases reported Wednesday in Vernon County, just south of La Crosse.

Investigators are working to determine if the Vernon cases are related to a broader outbreak in southwestern Wisconsin. The state has reported 155 confirmed and six probable cases of measles this year in Grant, Iowa and Lafayette counties, which border Iowa.