68 measles cases reported in Florida this year; count continues to rise By Cindy Krischer Goodman | cgoodman@sunsentinel.com | South Florida Sun Sentinel PUBLISHED: February 13, 2026 at 5:24 PM EST
Measles is now spreading in Florida, with 68 cases reported in the state already this year.
Florida Department of Health tracking shows that as of Feb. 7, the most recent data available, most cases in the state of the highly infectious disease are in Collier County, where, each day, more students and professors at Ave Maria University near Naples are showing symptoms.
Although the state’s tracking charts show 45 cases in college-aged students in the area, the university said in a statement this week that the total number of cases is nearer to 60.
In a statement on its website, the university said that its “ongoing priority remains the health, safety and well-being of every member of our campus community.” The school will continue to provide support through ongoing monitoring and quarantine protocols, free vaccinations, and “transparent communication,” the statement said.
Broward and Miami-Dade counties each have one reported case of the disease. Broward’s case involves a 10- to 14-year-old, while Miami-Dade’s involves a child under 4 years old.
Last week, the University of Florida said it was investigating two college classrooms where measles exposures may have occurred. The university said in a statement that health officials had already begun contacting people in the two classrooms. It did not say that measles had been detected in anyone connected to the university.
State records show two confirmed measles cases in college-age adults in Alachua County, where the university is located.
The vaccination status of those infected is not disclosed.
Florida’s surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, has aggressively campaigned to eliminate vaccine requirements, even as the measles spreads in the U.S. Measles is a highly infectious virus that spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes.
The disease often exhibits as a rash and can result in severe illness, including pneumonia and encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, which can lead to seizures, hallucinations, permanent brain damage, blindness, hearing loss and memory loss
CBS News has tracked more than 1,000 confirmed cases nationwide in 2026, about half the number of cases recorded in all of 2025.
In Florida last year, only seven measles cases were reported statewide.
Vaccination rates for measles among kindergarten-aged children in Florida have dropped from about 93% in 2019-20 to about 88.8% in 2024-25, according to the CDC. The rate is well below the national average of 93%.
In Broward, only 82.2% of 2024-25 kindergartners got their required vaccinations — the lowest level in 15 years. The public health goal is a vaccination rate of 95% — the level that makes it unlikely that a single infection will spark a disease cluster or outbreak.
While most people vaccinated against the disease will have lifelong protection, there are some instances when a booster dose is recommended. Anyone unsure whether they have immunity to measles can take a blood test (also called a titer test) to measure antibodies against measles.
And be sure to vote Republican. If the measles doesn’t get you, I.C.E. will. No, Ivermectin won’t help with this either.Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
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