Sacramento-area measles cases surpass previous years. Health officials explain why
Capital region health officials urged families to take steps to prevent the spread of measles, as Sacramento County reported six new cases Wednesday.
Health experts said the overall risk to the public — especially for those who are vaccinated — remained low. But they urged people to stay home when sick and take extra precautions with those who were not immunized or were too young to qualify for the vaccine.
“For anyone who is not vaccinated, please make this the moment to seriously consider vaccination,” said Dr. Rob Oldham, Placer County’s health officer, at a news conference Wednesday morning. “If vaccination isn’t an option for you, today we’re asking you to reconsider group activities — especially in settings where unvaccinated individuals gather — until the situation stabilizes.”
Sacramento County reported 11 cases since the beginning of the year. It had reported only two total cases in the previous six years. Placer County reported eight cases this year.
Public health officials on March 4 announced two confirmed measles cases in unvaccinated children in Sacramento County, among 26 confirmed cases in California at the time.
As of Wednesday, 39 measles cases were reported to California Department of Public Health officials statewide, with 85% in people younger than 20. Of those cases, 37 — or 95% — were among people who were unvaccinated. Two people have died this year from complications of the virus, CDPH reported.
The measles vaccine is highly effective, and California has a high vaccination rate on average. Statewide, 96% of kindergarteners in the 2024-2025 year had received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Still, experts said, measles is very contagious, and likely to find its way to even small pockets of people who aren’t immunized.
“Because it is so contagious, even small gaps in vaccination coverage can lead to more cases,” said Dr. Olivia Kasirye, Sacramento County’s public health officer.
Children younger under 12 months, she noted, were not eligible for the vaccine.
“It is dependent on the rest of us to protect that population,” Kasirye said.
Measles resurges as vaccination gaps widen
Measles was declared “eliminated” in the U.S. in 2000, but has re-emerged across the country in recent months, including a large outbreak in South Carolina. Canada recently lost its measles “elimination” status, a designation by the World Health Organization, after three decades.
Experts said a decline in vaccination rates since the COVID-19 pandemic has left more people vulnerable.
“What we’re seeing is a return to some of these vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Health. “Measles is really kind of the canary in the coal mine, because it is the most infectious of the vaccine-preventable diseases.”
Placer County’s first case was associated with someone who traveled from South Carolina in early January, Oldham said. Last month, officials there reported three measles cases involving teenagers in a single family, prompting a localized outbreak declaration.
Oldham said Wednesday that Placer County’s eight cases were among two families. He said that because vaccination rates are high in local public and private schools, he did not expect measles to gain a foothold there. The vaccination rate in Placer County kindergartens was more than 96%, he said.
Health officials said measles can be prevented with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine or the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine. The vaccines are given in two doses, typically at ages 1 and 4 to 6.
The vaccine for measles is highly effective: One dose is 93% effective, and the full two-dose course is 97% effective, said Dr. John Belko, a pediatric infectious disease doctor at Kaiser Permanente. It takes seven to 14 days to begin to benefit from the vaccine. Even so, he said, vaccinating someone within three days of their exposure to measles can help prevent infection.
Of the 11 cases in Sacramento County this year, one person had a record of getting a single dose of the measles vaccine, Kasirye said. The rest had no vaccination records. In Placer County, all eight people were either unvaccinated or health officials could not confirm their vaccination status, Oldham said.
How measles spreads and what symptoms to watch
Measles typically begins with a runny nose, fever and malaise. Patients tend to develop a deep, blotchy rash that starts around the head and ears, and spreads down the body.
It can be difficult to differentiate the early symptoms from a regular cold, Blumberg said. Moreover, some people discount measles, because the symptoms are similar to those of common respiratory viruses. But complications are relatively common with measles, he said, and can include ear infections or, more seriously, dehydration, pneumonia or inflammation of the brain.
If someone needs to seek medical attention, officials advised them to call ahead, so staff at the hospital or clinic can make preparations to minimize the risk of exposure to other people. People can be exposed without coming into direct contact with someone who is infectious, because the virus can linger in the air for up to two hours, Blumberg said.
So far, Placer and Sacramento counties are the only jurisdictions in the greater metro area to report measles cases this year, according to the state health department. But nearby counties have had instances of residents exposed, Oldham said.
“It will find people who are unvaccinated,” said Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine and infectious diseases doctor at UC San Francisco.
“The way to end an outbreak like this in the United States is to get people who are unvaccinated vaccinated,” Gandhi said. “So the virus can’t find anyone.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 1:39 PM.
