A new case of measles has been confirmed in Polk County, the Polk County Health Department (PCHD) said in a news release on Wednesday. The new case brings the number of confirmed measles cases in Iowa so far this year to 50. The state only had nine confirmed cases in 2025.
The infected person in the new case is a child, according to PCHD. More than half the confirmed cases in Iowa this year have been in children and teens between the ages of 5 and 19.
The new case is the result of person-to-person spread of the disease. Person-to-person spread in Iowa, as opposed to cases of measles contracted outside the state, was confirmed by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (IDHHS) in an Aug. 17 news release about an outbreak of measles involving 12 people in southern Iowa. Person-to-person spread in the state is considered ongoing…