Measles reemerges in Kansas with Osage County case, exposure at Topeka church

An Osage County resident has measles, acquired from an out-of-state exposure, health officials say. Concern about measles, once thought eradicated in the United States, continues as kindergarten vaccination rates fall in Kansas. (Photo by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

TOPEKA — Measles, once thought successfully eradicated in the United States, returned to Kansas with a confirmed case Tuesday in an Osage County resident, health officials said.

The individual acquired the disease outside the state and “we do not have measles spreading in Kansas at this time,” the Osage County Health Department and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said in a release.

Also Tuesday, a Topeka area church and the Shawnee County Health Department reported a measles exposure.

The Shawnee County Health Department said in a separate news release that attendees at the Topeka Baptist Church, 3301 S.W. Gage Blvd., on May 3 between 10:15 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. could have been exposed to measles.

The department encouraged people who were at the church during that time period to avoid working at or attending an adult care home, correctional facility, healthcare facility, schools, childcare facilities and adult daycare facilities until May 24.

Measles reemerges

Kansas reported 87 cases of measles last year associated with an outbreak that began in January and three additional cases not part of the outbreak.

“More than 80% of the cases were children, and over 90% of the cases were not vaccinated against measles,” a KDHE report said. “Eight people were hospitalized over the course of the outbreak.”

Measles has reemerged as people across the country question the safety of vaccines, which are recommended by all the major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Kansas has seen the percentage of kindergarteners who receive the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine drop from 94.47% in the 2019-20 school year to 90.59% for the 2024-25 school year, according to Kansas Division of Public Health data.

However, that coverage can be much lower when considering Kansas counties individually.

In the 2020-21 school year, five counties reported kindergarten vaccination rates for MMR below 75%. In 2023-24, the most recent year’s data available on the KDHE website, 12 counties report MMR vaccination rates below 75%, with Morton County the lowest at 56.67%, Kiowa at 60% and Decatur at 60.02%.

Measles cost the state

In a March report, the Kansas Legislative Research Department said the measles cases in 2025 cost the state about $2.6 million. The assessment included 80 of the 90 measles cases that occurred in the state in 2025.

“The review estimated the median cost per measles case at $32,805 and the median cost per contact at $223,” the report said. “Based on that information, KDHE estimated the cost of measles in Kansas from Jan. 1, 2025, to June 16, 2025, at a total of $2,665,432 (80 measles cases, 184 cases under public health monitoring).”

What to watch for

People are considered susceptible to measles if they were born in 1957 or later, SCHD said, and are not age-appropriately vaccinated, or lack laboratory evidence of immunity, or lack documentation of a previous measles infection.

Measles is highly contagious, and early symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes, followed by a rash that typically begins on the face and spreads downward, the Shawnee County Health Department said.

On average, one infected person can spread measles to 12 to 18 unvaccinated people, according to the KDHE website.