North Dakota Confirms New Measles Cases

(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images via the North Dakota Monitor)

(By: Michael Achterling. North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota now has confirmed measles cases, the Department of Health and Human Services said.

All cases at this time are in Williams County in northwest North Dakota involving people who were not vaccinated, said Molly Howell, immunization director for the department.

The department announced the first confirmed case, a Williams County child who is believed to have contracted measles from an out-of-state visitor. The three additional cases are people who had contact with the child, Howell said.

The cases are the first reemergence of measles in North Dakota since 2011, Howell said.

A North Dakotan tested positive for measles in 2018, but after additional testing, the department confirmed that person did not have the illness, Howell said.