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Bucks County Confirms Measles Case as Statewide Outbreak Grows
An adult in Bucks County has been diagnosed with measles after traveling to central Pennsylvania, where an outbreak is ongoing. Health officials warn more cases are likely as the state's total exceeds 1,500 with six deaths.
Bucks County health officials confirmed a case of measles on Monday in an adult who had recently traveled to central Pennsylvania, a region experiencing an ongoing outbreak of the highly contagious virus. The individual is no longer contagious, but their vaccination status was not immediately known.
The Bucks County Health Department has notified healthcare providers whose offices the person visited and will assist those providers in contacting patients who may have been exposed. Officials said they are working to identify and alert anyone at risk.
"Given the ongoing measles outbreak in parts of Pennsylvania, it is reasonable to expect additional cases may be reported here in Bucks County," health officials said in a statement.
The confirmation comes as Pennsylvania grapples with more than 1,500 measles cases statewide and six deaths, according to state health data. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported at least 5,182 cases in 45 states and Washington, D.C., with eight measles-associated deaths so far this yearâsix in Pennsylvania, one in New York, and one in Wisconsin.
Three of those deaths were confirmed just last week. New York State reported its first measles-associated death in more than 30 years, a child in upstate New York. Pennsylvania confirmed the death of an unvaccinated resident of Jefferson County, and Wisconsin reported the death of an infantâthe state's first since 1990.
The CDC has verified four of the eight deaths and notes the figure is subject to change.
About 96% of measles cases nationally have occurred among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the CDC. Roughly 2% of cases are among those who received one dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and another 2% among those who received the recommended two doses. At least 11% of cases have resulted in hospitalization, including more than 1 in 10 children under age 5.
A plurality of cases has been recorded among people aged 5 to 19.
The CDC recommends two doses of the MMR vaccineâthe first at 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective at preventing measles. However, vaccination rates have slipped in recent years: during the 2025-26 school year, 92.4% of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine, down from 95.2% in 2019-20 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bucks County health officials emphasized that vaccination remains the best defense. "The most effective way to protect yourself and your loved ones from measles is vaccination," they said. "Fortunately, across Bucks County we overall tend to see very high rates of vaccination against measles, which prevents further spread and keeps most infections mild in the rare instance that they occur."
Health officials are urging anyone who believes they may have been exposed and plans to seek medical care to contact the healthcare facility before arriving so staff can take proper precautions.
The Bucks County case underscores the importance of maintaining high immunization coverage, especially as outbreaks in other parts of the state and country continue to spread. Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known, capable of lingering in the air for up to two hours after an infected person has left a room.
Residents with questions about vaccination or potential exposure should contact their healthcare provider or the Bucks County Health Department.