Kansas measles total grows to 56, with most cases part of outbreak

Measles
boy with measles

Povorozniuk Liudmyla/iStock

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) today announced 8 more measles cases, bringing the state's total to 56, of which 54 are part of an outbreak in the southwestern part of the state.

The outbreak cases—like those in New Mexico and Oklahoma—have been linked to the large outbreak in West Texas. Kansas's outbreak cases are in eight counties. So far, two people have been hospitalized. 

Among the 54 outbreak patients, 48 were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. Of the state's overall cases, 45 patients are children. 

Officials said the most recent public exposure locations were an auto parts store in Cimarron, a library in Hutchinson, and the Wichita national airport. 

Multiple exposures in Seattle area

Elsewhere, health officials in Seattle-King County said yesterday they were notified about a measles case in a Canadian resident who had visited several locations in King and Snohomish County while infectious. 

Canada, like the United States, is experiencing a large outbreak, with cases reported in four provinces, mostly Ontario and Alberta. Canada's latest update listed 1,506 total measles cases, including 329 new ones.

The patient traveled through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and visited several locations in Renton, Bellevue, Seattle, Everett, and Woodinville while contagious. Officials added that the case isn't linked to any earlier local measles cases. Officials reported two earlier similar cases in in nonresidents who had traveled through King County, as well as five cases in Washington residents.

Poll finds confidence mixed for Trump's measles response, high for vaccine

In other developments, results from a new Reuters/Ipsos poll on President Donald Trump's job performance show that only 31% of respondents think the administration is handling the national measles outbreak responsibly, while 40% disagreed or did not answer the question. 

A large majority (86%) said they thought the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe for children, up a bit from 84% from a poll in 2020 in the early COVID pandemic months. However, 13% said the vaccine is unsafe for kids, up from 10% in 2020.

The 2-day poll was of 1,163 American adults was conducted earlier this week and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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