‘No known exposures’ after measles detected in Brookings county child, health department says

South Dakota Department of Health officials have flagged the state’s ninth case of measles this year.

Healthcare providers detected measles with a child younger than 14 in Brookings County, department spokeswoman Tia Kafka said. A Wednesday notice from the department asked medical providers to “be alert” for measles symptoms in Brookings, Deuel, Hamlin, Kingsbury, Lake and Moody counties.

The department did not issue a press release about the measles case, as it has in prior cases because, “there are no known public exposures at this time,” Kafka said in a written statement.

Grant County man visits public places in Brookings, Milbank while infectious with measles

The last case reported before Wednesday was in March, according to the department’s measles dashboard.

So far this year, there have been six measles cases reported in Grant County, one in Brown and two in Brookings. Seven were in patients who were unvaccinated or who did not know their vaccination status. Kafka did not say if the most recent patient was vaccinated.

Measles symptoms appear in two stages. The first could include a runny nose, cough, slight fever, red eyes sensitive to light and a rising fever. Between the third and seventh days of infection, a person with measles will have a temperature of 103-105 degrees and develop a red blotchy rash, typically beginning on the face before spreading to the entire body.

People who are not immune, vaccinated or are unsure of their status should contact their medical provider, the department has advised.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 1,983 confirmed measles cases nationwide in 2026 across 40 states. Those states include South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska.

There were 2,267 confirmed cases across the U.S. in 2025, according to the CDC.

Measles was considered fully eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. Falling measles vaccination rates in recent years have contributed to its return. Several areas of the U.S. now have vaccination rates below the 95% threshold needed to prevent outbreaks.

The kindergarten measles vaccination rate in South Dakota has tumbled from 97% to 90% in the past 10 years. Health officials blame disinformation about vaccine safety, which has contributed to a rise in parents claiming religious exemptions to avoid otherwise mandatory school immunizations.