An unvaccinated child under age 10 became the first confirmed measles case in Santa Fe County, bringing New Mexico’s total to 96 cases in what health officials say is the worst measles outbreak the state has seen as part of a national surge not witnessed in over 30 years.
The child contracted the virus during international travel and may have exposed others at Cliff’s Amusement Park in Albuquerque on Thursday, July 17, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., the New Mexico Department of Health announced Tuesday.
The case adds to a statewide outbreak that has now affected eight counties — Lea, Sandoval, San Juan, Luna, Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Guadalupe and Valencia — making New Mexico a significant contributor to what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the highest number of U.S. measles cases in more than three decades.
Nationally, 1,309 confirmed measles cases have been reported across 40 states as of July 15, with New Mexico among the hardest hit. The 2025 outbreak represents an approximately 180% increase over the 285 cases reported in all of 2024, according to CDC data.
“Every new case, including those that are a result of travel elsewhere, is a reminder measles is a highly contagious virus,” Dr. Miranda Durham, chief medical officer for the New Mexico Department of Health, said in a press release. “Thankfully, New Mexicans are responding to the call to get a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, the best defense against measles.”
The outbreak response has prompted tens of thousands of New Mexico residents to receive MMR vaccinations since the outbreak began in February 2025, representing a significant increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to the state health department.
New Mexico’s cases are part of a larger multi-state outbreak affecting close-knit communities with low vaccination coverage in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, which accounts for 82% of all 2025 U.S. cases, CDC data shows. The outbreak has resulted in three deaths nationally — the first U.S. measles deaths in a decade — including one confirmed death in New Mexico of an unvaccinated Lea County resident.
Between February 1 and July 21, 43,440 New Mexicans have received the MMR vaccination, according to the state health department.
Anyone who visited Cliff’s Amusement Park during the exposure window should check their vaccination status and monitor for measles symptoms over the next 21 days. Symptoms develop seven to 21 days after exposure and include fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes, followed by a red spotted rash that usually starts on the head or face and spreads down the body.
People can transmit measles to others from four days before to four days after the rash appears. Those who develop symptoms should stay home and contact their healthcare provider or the NMDOH Helpline at 1-833-SWNURSE (1-833-796-8773).
The health department has established walk-in vaccination clinics statewide, including locations in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Deming, Santa Fe and Farmington. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective at preventing measles.
Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, but cases continue to occur when unvaccinated travelers contract the virus abroad and return to communities with low vaccination coverage.
For more information about measles, visit http://measles.doh.nm.gov/.
“ People can transmit measles to others from four days before to four days after the rash appears. Those who develop symptoms should stay home and contact their healthcare provider or the NMDOH Helpline”.
So if you were exposed and are not symptomatic and you go out and about and then 1-4 days later, the rash appears, you have just exposed a bunch of others! This is why measles spreads like wild fire.
Ideally, anyone who was in geographic proximity to this child and is not vaccinated Should Stay Home. Invoke quarantine. There are laws on the books. Use them!