Doctors Warn of Highly-Infectious Disease Spreading Across the US
Doctors Warn of Highly-Infectious Disease Spreading Across the US
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Measles cases are spreading across the country.
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Doctors share what to do if you’ve been exposed to the virus.
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Plus, what infectious disease doctors want you to know about the disease.
Public health officials in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Colorado have recently sent out warnings of travelers infected with measles passing through busy airports and other areas. Couple that with measles’ ability to spread rapidly, and it’s understandable to have concerns about the disease.
“Measles is extraordinarily infectious—if you’re susceptible,” says Thomas Russo, M.D., a professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York.
Each year, a small number of measles cases pop up in select areas around the country. But the past 12 months have been different. Nearly 2,100 people across 44 states were impacted by measles in 2025, according to data shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s the highest number of cases in 25 years. Unfortunately, cases continue to surface.
Meet the experts: John Sellick, D.O., an infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo; Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., an infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security; Thomas Russo, M.D., a professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York.
These warnings about exposures keep coming, making it fair to wonder what this means for you. Here, infectious disease doctors break down some of the most pressing questions people have about measles, plus what to do if you are exposed.
Why is measles so contagious?
While there are outbreaks across the country each year, most people aren’t overly familiar with measles. Also known as rubeola, measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus, according to the CDC. It may cause symptoms like a cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes, high fever, and spots inside the mouth.
But measles may also cause serious health complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis (inflammation in the brain), per the CDC.
Measles is considered one of the most contagious diseases in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus can stay active and contagious in the air or on infected surfaces for up to two hours. The WHO also notes that one person who is infected with measles may infect up to 18 other people.
The virus spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes, Dr. Russo explains. From there, people breathe in infectious particles or touch surfaces that those particles land on and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth, which may lead to infection.
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The infectious period with measles is long—people who are infected may spread the virus to others four days before they develop the classic measles rash and four days after it appears, per the WHO.
How can I prevent getting measles?
There is a vaccine to prevent measles, called the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. It’s part of the childhood vaccination series and is given in two doses. One dose is 93% effective at preventing measles, while two doses is 97% effective, per the CDC. (Despite new changes to the CDC’s childhood vaccination schedule, the MMR vaccine is still recommended for all children.)
The first dose is usually given between 12 and 15 months, and the second dose is given between ages four and six, or whenever children start school, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). It’s still possible to get the MMR vaccine as an adult or beyond that age range, but the doses need to be spread out by 28 days, per the AAP.
The MMR vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine, which means that it contains a weakened form of the measles virus, explains John Sellick, D.O., an infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo. That trains the immune system to react if you’re exposed to measles down the road.
“The vaccine is not perfect, but it’s really pretty good,” Dr. Russo says.
(Just be aware that people born between 1963 and 1967 received a measles vaccine during childhood that isn’t considered effective, according to the CDC. If this describes you, the CDC recommends getting vaccinated again.)
Ultimately, you can get measles if you’re fully vaccinated, but it’s unlikely. (Again, the vaccine is 97% effective, so three out of 100 vaccinated people may get it.) “There were a few individuals who received a shot in the most recent measles outbreak and got infected,” Dr. Russo says. “But if you have some protection, you’re less likely to get severe disease as well.”
What to do if you’ve been exposed to measles
If you discover that you crossed paths with someone who has measles, don’t panic. If you were born before 1957, doctors consider you to have “presumptive immunity,” which means that you were likely exposed to the virus as a child and therefore should have immunity to it, Dr. Russo says. “If you have presumptive immunity or if you’ve been vaccinated, you don’t have to worry about a measles exposure,” he says.
Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., an infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, agrees. “There is no action to take,” he says.
If you were born after 1957 and you haven’t been vaccinated or are partially vaccinated, you still have options. While there is no treatment for measles, you can get vaccinated after an exposure or receive an injection of antibodies called immune serum globulin to help provide protection against severe disease, Dr. Adalja says. (The immune serum globulin treatment is the only option for pregnant women, infants, and people who are immunocompromised because the vaccine is a live virus and not recommended for those groups, Dr. Russo explains.)
But if you know you’ve been exposed and you’re not sure if you have immunity, “the safest thing is to get vaccinated,” Dr. Russo says. Dr. Sellick agrees. “It’s safe to get another dose, even if you were fully vaccinated or already immune to the virus,” he says.
What to do if you get measles
If you develop symptoms of measles, call your doctor (don’t go into the office—you’ll risk exposing others). Again, there is no treatment for measles, but your doctor may suggest immune serum globulin and supportive care, like acetaminophen for fever and plenty of fluids, along with monitoring yourself for serious complications of the virus. Ultimately, it’s best to contact a healthcare provider. They can provide the next steps from there.
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