A growing measles outbreak in the southwestern U.S. has Connecticut public health officials warning about the dangers of the virus and urging residents to get vaccinated.
“It is truly one of the most readily transmissible infectious diseases that we work with. It spreads like wildfire,” said Rick Martinello, an adult and pediatric infectious diseases clinician at Yale School of Medicine.
As of March 6, the U.S. had seen a total of 222 measles cases in 2025 across 12 jurisdictions, including 201 cases associated with the outbreak in Texas and New Mexico, but also a handful of cases in more nearby states, like Rhode Island and New York, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The outbreak has resulted in one confirmed death of an unvaccinated child in Texas. Health officials in New Mexico confirmed March 6 that an unvaccinated adult who died tested positive for the measles, but the official cause of death is still under investigation.
So far this year, no cases have been reported in Connecticut, the state’s Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani said.
Given that nearby states are seeing cases, it may seem like just a matter of time before someone in Connecticut tests positive, but Juthani said that’s not necessarily true. Last year, measles cases reached neighboring states like Massachusetts and New York, but there were none documented in Connecticut.
Here's what to know about the viral infection.
What is measles?
Measles is a respiratory illness generally characterized by fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash. While most people recover from the measles without incident, it can cause several complications, Martinello said.
“Measles is not a benign childhood illness. I think the death that occurred in Texas exemplifies that,” Martinello said.
Roughly 5-10% of children who get measles develop an ear infection, and about 5% develop pneumonia. One out of every 1,000 kids with the measles will develop encephalitis, or swelling of the brain. Measles can also cause brain swelling as long as 10 years after the infection takes place.
It can also cause a condition often referred to as “immune system amnesia,” which isn’t entirely understood, but causes people who fully recover from the measles to be more susceptible to other infections for about two or three years.
How can you protect yourself and your family?
Juthani said the best way for residents to protect themselves is to get vaccinated.
“We have high vaccination rates in our state, so that is a good thing,” Juthani said. “We know that when you get below 95% vaccination rate, then the herd immunity is less protective.”
In the 2023-2024 school year, 97.7% of Connecticut kindergarten students had received the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to a December 2024 DPH press release.
The CDC recommends that children get two doses of the MMR vaccine — the first between 12 and 15 months of age and a second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose of the MMR vaccine is 93% effective against preventing the measles and two doses are 97% effective. People who receive the vaccinations according to the recommended schedule are generally considered protected for life against measles and rubella, though immunity against mumps can decrease over time.
“Even if you were to contract the disease with two shots, the vast majority of people are protected,” Juthani said.
People who were vaccinated during the 1960s should confirm which version of the vaccine they received. The current version uses a weakened live virus so that the immune system fights the infection and develops immunity. However, between 1963 and 1967, a version of the vaccine was also available that used an inactivated, or killed, version of the virus, later found to be less effective.
People who were vaccinated prior to 1968 and can confirm that they received a live measles vaccine don’t need to be revaccinated. But, anyone who received the inactivated version or isn’t sure which version they received should get at least one dose of the live version.
Even though the vaccine is generally recommended for kids over one year, if you have a child between six and 12 months that’s going to travel internationally, the CDC recommends getting them protected.
Not sure whether you’ve gotten the vaccine or not? CT WiZ, the DPH vaccination portal, lets people who were vaccinated in Connecticut see their records.
What should you not do?
Juthani and Martinello both also called attention to one point they've tried to make clear: Vitamin A does not prevent measles.
In an editorial originally posted on Fox News, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy said that vitamin A “can dramatically reduce measles mortality.”
“Vitamin A does not prevent measles and large doses can be very dangerous,” Juthani said. “Keeping your kid well nourished and making sure they don't have malnutrition, that would be more important than starting supplementation.”
Martinello said that there is a role for the supplement to treat some patients who have measles if they are deficient from vitamin A, but it does not actually treat the virus.
“Vitamin A, in its own right, is not an antiviral medication. It does not treat the measles. It helps to improve somebody's response to it, but there's no role for vitamin A to help prevent the measles. It is not an antiviral medication in its own right,” Martinello said.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
