Chicago confirms two cases of measles after city resident and migrant child diagnosed

Chicago authorities have identified two cases of measles as of Friday, one city resident and a migrant child at a shelter, the first cases reported in Chicago since 2019.

In the case of the city resident, the source of infection was unknown and the person was “recovering well at home,” the Chicago Department of Public Health said Thursday, adding that their infectious period ended on March 6.

On Friday, the department announced a second confirmed case of measles, this time in a young child who was staying at a shelter for migrant families. The child has also recovered and was no longer infectious, according to a statement.

The department has said it is working to determine and notify people who may have come in contact with the two people diagnosed with measles.

Residents of the migrant shelter, in the neighborhood of Pilsen, were asked to remain in place until authorities can determine who is vaccinated and thus immune to measles, and who might be at risk for infection, a statement from the public health agency said. 

“Those who have been vaccinated can leave the shelter while those who have not been vaccinated will have to remain,” the statement said. “All unvaccinated residents will be screened for symptoms and offered the measles vaccine.”

City agencies will be establishing a process to assess the vaccination status of all shelter residents early on Friday, the statement said.

Most Chicago residents are vaccinated for measles during childhood and are not at a high risk of contracting the illness, the public health authority said.

Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, of the 25th Ward in Chicago, said in a statement that the population of the migrant shelter was 1,876 people this week, including 95 toddlers between the ages of 1 and 2. That number is down from a population of 2,550 last year, he said.

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As for the case diagnosed in the city resident, the department said it identified no recent travel outside of the city, but the person reported interactions with domestic and international travelers.

The city urged people who were at Swedish Hospital on Feb. 27 between 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m., or who were on Chicago Transit Authority Bus 92 between 9:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on the same day, to call the department to determine next steps.

“While cases of measles are exceedingly rare in Chicago due to high vaccination coverage from childhood, reports of measles cases have been increasing recently internationally and in the United States,” the department said in its Thursday statement.

There were five cases of measles diagnosed in the state of Illinois in 2023; prior to that the state hadn't seen a case since 2019, the statement said.

No link has been established between the current measles case in the city resident and a measles case of an Indiana man who visited Chicago last month, the statement said, adding that the latter case did not result in any additional measles cases in Chicago residents.

“The MMR vaccine is 97% effective at stopping transmission of measles and has enabled us to live in a time when seeing cases of measles at all is a rarity,” department Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige said in a statement at the time. “It is never too late to get vaccinated against this virus, not only to protect yourself but also to protect those around you who may be unable or too young to be vaccinated themselves.”