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Signs point the way to measles testing in the parking lot of the Seminole Hospital District on February 27, 2025, in Seminole, Texas. Nebraska has confirmed four measles cases within a week, all in the same household in Platte County. Two of those cases were still active or in the contagious stage. (Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images)
LINCOLN — Nebraska health officials have confirmed the first measles case in Lancaster County in 36 years, which is the state’s fifth case in about a month’s time.
The latest incidence of the highly contagious disease in Nebraska is an adult who was vaccinated and had no out-of-state travel history, according to the reporting agency, the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department.
“We are highly concerned,” said Kerry Kernen, Lincoln-Lancaster health director, especially given the rise nationally and particularly in the states of Arizona, South Carolina and Utah.
“As cases continue to spread in the U.S. and were reported in Nebraska, we knew it was only a matter of time before measles would be on our doorstep,” she said.
Measles is spread through the air by breathing, coughing and sneezing. The health department cautioned people who were in the same locations as the latest person with measles, asking that they fill out a risk assessment survey.
Places cited as possible locations of exposure: Walmart, 4700 N. 27th St., Jan. 18 from 1 to 3:30 p.m.; and Med Elite Urgent Care, 7120 S. 69th St., Jan. 25 from 1:30 to 5 p.m.
Kernan said it is unknown how a vaccinated Nebraskan was infected with measles. She said health professionals are working with the person to monitor symptoms. No other personal information was released.
People most at risk, she said, are those who have no doses of the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine (MMR) or who have not had measles. She recommends that Nebraskans check their vaccination status.
Signs of measles include fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and sore throat followed by a rash. The health department said that two doses of MMR vaccine are about 97% effective against measles, and one dose has about 93% effectiveness. Most people receive the vaccine as a child. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the first dose at age 12 to 15 months.
The Lancaster County case follows four confirmed in the same Platte County household in late December and early January. Another case was confirmed in Sheridan County in May 2025. Before that the state had not seen a confirmed incidence of measles since 2017.
As of Jan. 22, the CDC had confirmed about 416 measles cases in the country during 2026, and in 2025, a total of 2,255.
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