Measles Reported For The 171st Time In Wisconsin in 2026
Wisconsin confirmed a new measles case in Chippewa County on Tuesday, the third new county to report a case in the past week, pushing the state's 2026 total to 171 confirmed cases. The Chippewa County case is travel-related and not connected to the primary outbreak in southwest Wisconsin. No public exposure sites have been identified.
The core of Wisconsin's outbreak is concentrated in Grant, Iowa, Lafayette and Vernon counties in the southwest corner of the state, 161 confirmed and six probable cases.
The outbreak began climbing rapidly in late July and peaked at 49 confirmed cases in a single week in late August. State health officer Dr. Ryan Westergaard called it the worst measles year in Wisconsin in over 35 years. Five people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
More than 99 percent of Wisconsin's confirmed cases, 170 of 171, occurred in unvaccinated people. Only about 85 percent of Wisconsin kindergartners are fully vaccinated. The threshold for community immunity is 95 percent. The gap is the outbreak.
Nationally, the CDC has confirmed 3,471 measles cases across 47 states in 2026, a figure that represents one of the worst domestic outbreaks in decades.
Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97 percent effective at preventing measles infection. One dose provides 93 percent protection. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services recommends checking vaccination records immediately.
