At least 12 measles cases were reported at a Florida college<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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THURSDAY, Feb. 5, 2026 (HealthDay News) \u2014 Measles is now extending beyond families with young children, with outbreaks reported on college campuses and communities across the country.<\/p>\n
At least 12 people have tested positive for measles at Ave Maria University in Florida, near Naples, since Jan. 29, according to local officials. Three people were taken to the hospital.<\/p>\n
A student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison also tested positive after traveling overseas.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Clemson University in South Carolina confirmed a measles case linked to someone with ties to the school.<\/p>\n
It takes only three cases of measles for health officials to declare an outbreak.<\/p>\n
So far in 2026, at least 17 states have reported infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> (CDC).<\/p>\n Josephine Miller, a junior at Ave Maria, told a local news station she suspects numbers may be higher than reported.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019s a lot more. A lot of my friends have said people have come down with the sickness,” Miller told WBBH<\/em>.<\/p>\n University officials told students Sunday in a letter obtained by NBC News<\/em> that the Florida Department of Health had sent a team to campus to help \u201cmanage response efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the South Carolina Department of Public Health<\/a> said 29 new cases have been confirmed in recent days, with 354 people still in quarantine.<\/p>\n The state now has 876 total cases, most involving children and teens in Spartanburg County.<\/p>\n Utah and Arizona together have reported at least 505 cases.<\/p>\n In California, officials are watching closely after a child with measles visited Disneyland on Jan. 28<\/a> while contagious. No related cases have been confirmed yet.<\/p>\n A Disneyland outbreak in 2014\u20132015<\/a> infected 125 people across seven states, and were also linked to cases in Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n South Carolina\u2019s outbreak is now the largest in the U.S. since measles was declared eliminated in 2000. Before that, Texas reported 762 cases in 2025.<\/p>\n Common measles symptoms include:<\/p>\n High fever (up to 104 degrees F) and headache<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Cough and runny nose<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Red, watery eyes<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Small white spots inside the mouth<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A red rash that starts on the head and spreads down the body<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Health officials say about 1 in 10 people with measles need hospital care. Last year, three people in the U.S. died from measles, including two young girls.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n University of California – Davis Health has ways to prevent measles from spreading<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n