Measles cases surge to 378 nationwide, surpassing 2024 total; Nevada remains vigilant
Measles Outbreak Across States, As of Thursday, March 20, 2025
RENO, Nev. — Measles cases are on the rise across the country, with 378 confirmed cases reported as of March 20, surpassing the total of 285 cases in all of 2024.
Cheryl Hug-English, Medical Director at the UNR Student Health Center, emphasized the severity of the situation. "I think that there's sort of a misperception that it isn't a big deal. But as we've seen in the recent cases, there can be significant morbidity and unfortunately, sometimes mortality," she said.
Students, both in grade school and on college campuses, are among the most susceptible to the illness. "As individuals start in school, they're around more people. They're in close contact with more individuals, classmates, friends. And so we want to make sure that they are protected," said Hug-English.
While Nevada law mandates student vaccinations against measles, exemptions for religious and medical reasons are allowed. However, Hug-English noted, "If there were an outbreak of measles or another disease, they would be required to leave campus until that outbreak was cleared by our district health department."
At the University of Nevada, only 171 out of nearly 20,000 students have exemptions. Despite the vaccination requirement for students, the rest of the community is not mandated to be vaccinated.
Dr. Mavel Gutierrez, a pediatric infectious disease expert with Renown Children’s Hospital, stressed the importance of vaccination. "The vaccines are mumps, measles and rubella. Vaccines has shown to have a high degree of efficacy, with one dose 93% of protection and with two doses 97% of protection," she said.
Institutions across Washoe County, including the Washoe County School District and Truckee Meadows Community College, collaborate with Northern Nevada Public Health in the event of a measles outbreak.
So far, the virus has not been detected in Nevada.
Email reporter Anthony Ramos at aramos@sbgtv.com. Follow @antramosnews on X and Anthony Ramos on Facebook.