Measles reported in eastern Idaho, becoming state’s second case in one week

After not reporting any measles cases this year during the nation’s worst outbreak of the highly contagious disease in decades, Idaho health officials reported two cases this week.

The two new infections — both in unvaccinated children — are Idaho’s first measles cases since 2023, when an outbreak in southwest Idaho led to 10 infections. The new reports are the first measles cases recorded in local residents in eastern Idaho and the Panhandle area of North Idaho in more than three decades, local health officials say.
After not reporting any measles cases this year during the nation’s worst outbreak of the highly contagious disease in decades, Idaho health officials reported two cases this week.

The two new infections — both in unvaccinated children — are Idaho’s first measles cases since 2023, when an outbreak in southwest Idaho led to 10 infections. The new reports are the first measles cases recorded in local residents in eastern Idaho and the Panhandle area of North Idaho in more than three decades, local health officials say. 

A child living in Bonneville County became eastern Idaho’s first measles case of a local resident since 1991, the Eastern Idaho Public Health District announced Thursday. When symptoms first showed, the child was isolating in a household with an international visitor who had measles, health district spokesperson Brenna Christofferson told the Idaho Capital Sun. 

Eastern Idaho Public Health officials “still believe the public has not been exposed to the identified cases due to self-isolation during the contagious period[s],” she said. 

Eastern Idaho Public Health will not publicly announce in news releases other measles cases that could be linked to the household, but will report household cases to the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, the health district said in a news release. Cases linked to community spread will be reported, officials said. 

On Tuesday, North Idaho officials reported that a child in Kootenai County became the first case in the state’s Panhandle area since 1991. Last week, officials detected measles in wastewater in Coeur d’Alene, the largest city in the state’s Panhandle area, where Idaho’s first measles case this year was reported. 

This year, health officials have confirmed 1,356 measles cases across 40 states by early August, according to the CDC. Idaho’s two cases are not included in the national tally yet.