Unvaccinated Valencia County child tests positive for measles, marking 19th New Mexico case in 2026

The New Mexico Department of Health on Thursday announced that an unvaccinated child in Valencia County has tested positive for measles, bringing the total number cases in the state to 19 so far this year.

The state health department’s announcement does not specify the child’s age or gender but says the child is recovering at home. 

Officials listed sites and time periods in Belen in recent days where others may have been exposed to the virus, including: 

• The Building Blocks Learning Center at 303 W. Reinken Ave. between 8:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. on Sept. 3;
• Walmart at the I-25 bypass between 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 4; and
• Presbyterian Urgent Care at 609 Christopher Road between 8:25 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. on Sept. 8.

State health officials urged members of the public who may have been exposed at those locations to check their vaccination status and monitor for symptoms. 

Symptoms typically appear within one to three weeks of exposure, according to NMDOH, and begin with a fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes. A red, spotted rash often appears on the head or face before spreading down the body. Infected patients are contagious from four days before to four days after the rash appears, NMDOH said.

The most-recent case that state epidemiologists announced involved an unvaccinated adult in southeast New Mexico who tested positive with the disease, likely after contracting it out-of-state, officials said. The majority of the cases this year have been reported in the state’s correctional facilities.

“Every new measles case is a reminder you can protect yourself and your loved ones with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination,” Dr. Chad Smelser, the deputy state epidemiologist at NMDOH, said in a statement Thursday. 

That vaccine is “the best protection against this virus,” he said.

The number of measles cases in New Mexico remains far less than the 100 cases state officials logged between February and September last year. That outbreak marked the first in the state since 1996.