photo by: Mary Conlon/AP

Vials for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are displayed at a clinic in Lubbock, Texas, on Feb. 26, 2025.

Health care providers in Sedgwick County are preparing for the potential return of measles to the area for the first time in nearly a decade.

An outbreak of the highly contagious respiratory virus in Kansas has grown to 37 confirmed cases, prompting pleas from Gov. Laura Kelly for residents to get themselves and their children vaccinated. Most of the cases have been in southwest Kansas, with six in Kiowa County.

Measles has not been detected in the Wichita area so far this year — but doctors are bracing themselves for the possibility of a local outbreak.

“I think we’re going to have cases here in Sedgwick County,” said Dr. Rick Kellerman, a professor of family and community medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. “I’m kind of surprised we haven’t had a case yet.”

Wichita’s last confirmed measles case occurred in 2017 after an unvaccinated child from Butler County contracted the virus in Europe and infected another person on a flight home. More than 400 people in Sedgwick County were potentially exposed, according to state health officials.

Still, measles outbreaks are unusual — meaning many doctors lack first-hand experience treating measles patients.

That’s why Kellerman, who worked with measles patients in Salina in the 1990s, is trying to educate health professionals on how to test for and treat the virus without spreading it even further. On Wednesday, he and KU Medicine-Wichita pediatrics professor Robert Wittler are holding a virtual training for health care providers on clinical strategies for managing an outbreak.

One tip? Meet patients outside, in their cars, or consider making house calls — because bringing them into the office risks spreading the virus to everyone who’s unvaccinated in the building.

“Measles is so contagious,” Kellerman said, “that, even if you bring people in through the back door of your office, it can be transmitted through the ventilation system clear to the other side of the office.”

The virus can linger in the air for hours after an infected person leaves the room. The vast majority of people who are exposed to measles and lack immunity will contract the virus.

The Medical Society of Sedgwick County is distributing information to doctors ensuring they have the latest information on how the virus presents and how to test for it.

What does measles look like?

Measles symptoms often begin with a cough, runny nose and fever.

As the infection progresses, many kids develop small white spots inside their mouths and eventually a splotchy rash. Someone can be contagious for days before a rash breaks out, meaning many people spread the virus before they’re aware that they have it.

Sedgwick County health officer Garold Minns says parents who suspect their child may have measles should keep them home.

“Don’t take them to the movie theater. Don’t send them to school,” Minns said.

He says parents should notify their family physician — but don’t bring them anywhere in person without clearing it with staff ahead of time.

“You shouldn’t be taking them to the emergency room unless they have some other complication that makes them very sick,” he said. “If so, seek directions from the facility about how to make sure they’re not giving the disease to other people.”

Officials urge vaccination

Most measles cases in Kansas, Texas and other states currently experiencing outbreaks have been in children who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

In anticipation of potential local spread, officials are urging everyone to get vaccinated. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is highly effective at preventing infection and illness. After completing a one- or two-dose vaccine sequence, you’re protected for life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Adults born in 1957 and earlier are presumed to have immunity due to a prior infection because, before a vaccine was available, nearly every American contracted it by adolescence.

Widespread vaccination led federal officials to declare measles eliminated in 2000. Case numbers were low and often linked to international travel. But in recent years, vaccination rates have been falling both locally and nationally.

For a population to achieve herd immunity against the measles, the World Health Organization says 95% of people must be vaccinated or have immunity through prior infection. Only 91% of Sedgwick County kindergarteners are vaccinated against the measles according to state health officials — a drop from prior years.

“Measles was essentially eradicated in the U.S.,” Kellerman said. “And then, over the last several years, we’ve seen an increase in cases because people are not getting their children vaccinated.”