By JP Crumrine
Correspondent
Multiple measles cases have been confirmed in Riverside County. Last Friday, Feb. 13, the public health officials with Riverside University Health System — Public Health issued a press release alerting the public of this situation.
Only four days earlier, RUHS-PH had announced the first case of measles in the County during 2026. The virus was identified in a Western Riverside County child, who had not been vaccinated for measles.
On Feb. 13, RUHS-PH issued another release confirming that a second child and an adult were confirmed with measles. Both have possible links to the child who was identified with measles earlier in the week. Three cases in close proximity are considered an outbreak.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that lives in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person. It can spread to others through coughing and sneezing.
“These additional cases of measles underscore the disease’s highly contagious nature,” said Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Jennifer Chevinsky in the agency’s press release.
The confirmed cases in Riverside County are part of a wider reporting of cases in Southern California, with measles recently identified in Orange, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.
“As we see growing reports of measles from our neighboring counties, the risk of measles is no longer remote. It’s now also impacting us here in our own county, even among those with no recent international or out-of-state travel. The importance of timely vaccination is clear,” said Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Jennifer Chevinsky.
If someone has measles, up to 90% of the people close to them, who are not immune, will also likely become infected, according to health officials.
Besides the three cases in Riverside County, the California Department of Public Health had already issued a “Health Alert” earlier this month. As of Feb. 9, there were 17 confirmed cases of measles in California. Most were in Shasta County.
The number of measles cases in California are increasing. In 2025, there were 25 identified cases, two more than in 2024. However in 2023, only four cases were confirmed.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease control, 910 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States as of Feb. 12. This is already nearly 40 percent of the number of cases reported in 2025.
In 2025, Over 80 percent of the cases were in children and young adults under 20, the CDC reported. And more than 90 percent of the people were either unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown.
The most severe outbreak has occurred in South Carolina – more than 900 cases. It began in the fall and is continuing. Reuters has reported that one pediatric clinic will treat patients in their cars in the parking lot. This extreme step is taken to minimize the chance of the virus contaminating the clinic.
In the locality, Reuters reported that less than 90 percent of students had been vaccinated and in several areas only 20 percent had received the measles vaccination.
“As a pediatrician, I know that measles is not a mild childhood illness — it is a serious and potentially life-threatening disease,” said California Medical Association President René Bravo, M.D. “We eliminated measles in this country through science, vaccination and community responsibility. When vaccination coverage drops below community immunity thresholds, outbreaks are not random events — they are the foreseeable consequence of reduced community protection…”
Normally, standard measles protection for children is one dose of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. It should be given at 12 months of age and another at 4 to 6 years, according to the County public health officials.
The RUHS-PH urges people to get vaccinated. One can either talk to their healthcare provider or visit one of Public Health’s upcoming vaccine clinics. All clinics accept walk-in appointments. Cost and eligibility vary. For questions and clinic locations, please call 951-358-7125 or visit www.ruhealth.org/vaccineclinics.
