The first case of measles in Vermont in 2025 has been confirmed in a school-aged child in Lamoille county, the Vermontdepartment of health reported on Tuesday.
The child became sick in recent days after returning with their family from traveling internationally and has been isolated from most community settings while they have been contagious, according to the department. There is believed to be a low risk to the public.
The positive test result came on 10 March. The only place that has been confirmed as a possible exposure site is Copley hospital in Morrisville, where the child was being evaluated the previous day.
Hospital staff have already contacted visitors who had been in the emergency department between 3.15pm and 6pm on Sunday, the department says.
The case is not related to the three ongoing domestic outbreaks of measles in the US, nor is it related to the current measles outbreak in Quebec, health officials confirmed.
This is the first case of measles in Vermont this year, but it follows two cases in 2024 and two cases in the decade before, one in 2011 and one in 2018.
The health department is also urging families and especially children in Vermont to make sure they receive their vaccinations against the measles virus. Measles is especially dangerous in children under five years old, the department says. About one in five unvaccinated people in the US who get measles are hospitalized.
The US is currently seeing a measles outbreak, with cases confirmed in multiple states across the country. Last week, it was reported that cities in Texas were running short of vaccines to protect against the virus. At the same time, it was reported that an unvaccinated adult who was infected with measles had died in New Mexico.
