First Measles Case Reported in Tennessee

The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) has confirmed the state’s first case of measles for 2025 amid an outbreak that has hit a number of states across the country.

Late last week, TDH said that a resident in Middle Tennessee tested positive after being infected in early March and is currently recovering at home.

Tennessee is the 18^th state to report at least one measles case in 2025. As previously reported in CMM, the other 17 states include: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.

The largest number of cases remains in Texas, where the outbreak started, with the Texas Department of State Health Services reporting a total of 327 cases as of Tuesday. The outbreak then spread to neighboring New Mexico, where the New Mexico Department of Health’s latest report on Tuesday confirmed  a total of 43 cases.

Also as of Tuesday, the Oklahoma State Department of Health has reported a total of nine cases, with seven confirmed and two probable.

As most cases of measles have occurred in people who have been unvaccinated, state health departments are encouraging parents and caretakers to bring children in for their vaccinations. This week the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sent text messages and email notifications to families of more than 101,000 children aged 12 months through 18 years whose records in the Colorado Immunization Information System show their child/children may be overdue for their first measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.