Measles & Mumps News:

• In May, a single traveler from Europe to Denver spread measles to 15 others on planes, and 2 of their household contacts, for a total of 17 cases. (CIDRAP)
  
  
• A second measles case at a Broomfield, CO high school has been confirmed. (CDPHE)
  
  
• The first three measles cases in L.A. County this year cost about $230,000, driven primarily by the high cost of contact tracing and monitoring. (CalMatters)
  
  
• Maryland’s mumps outbreak has grown to 26 cases, up by 12 over the past week. (Maryland.gov) 

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Health News:

• Spain has reported suspected human-to-human transmission of swine flu. (Independent)
  
  
• The estrogen patch surged in popularity, but now there’s a shortage. (NY Times)
  
  
• The WHO recommends updating all 3 strains in next fall’s flu vaccine, including one to match the H3N2 strain that came later this year. (CIDRAP)
  
  
• After CDC changes, many states are pushing to keep childhood vaccines free and accessible. (NBC)
  
  
• Some good news: Denmark became the first country in the EU to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. (WHO)
  
  
• Cannabis hyperemesis, or severe vomiting caused by weed, is on the rise. (Hill)
  
  
• Daylight savings is nearly here. Motor vehicle and workplace accidents, heart attacks, strokes, and even suicide may all increase in the days to weeks after the time change. (Desert Sun)
  
  
• Federal aid for lead cleanup is receding, which is a problem for cash-strapped cities. (KFF Health News)
  
  
• H5N1 bird flu hit Pennsylvania hard in February, with 7 million birds sickened in that month alone. Egg prices aren’t yet affected, but experts are keeping a close eye. (WGAL)
  
  
• Norovirus activity is high in the Northeast and Midwest. (Wastewater Scan)
  
  

Best Questions:

We have had the pleasure of meeting with managers and operators from South Carolina and nearby areas with measles outbreaks from across our client base over the past week or two. These four fantastic questions come directly from them. 

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Is measles spread via food or close contact? How long does it linger? 

Measles isn’t foodborne or even spread through physical touch, but it’s airborne. It lingers in the air for up to 3 hours after someone infectious breathes in a room. Some health departments will use 2.5 hours, but most use 3 hours as a general rule for calculating exposure time. So if a guest visited your business for about 15 minutes, you can expect the health department to announce an exposure window of 3 hours and 15 minutes. 

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Will a health department call us privately or go public after someone with measles visited our business?

Health departments tend to move quickly - and with good clinical reason. If someone is unvaccinated and exposed to measles, they can get the vaccine within 72 hours of exposure and drastically slash their chances of getting the virus. The downside to that is health departments will move very fast. They often will tell you that you’re on the list of exposure sites at the same time as they publish it. The good news is that we really aren’t seeing any public backlash or decreased revenue at businesses that are named. 

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How should we clean/sanitize after a measles exposure? Do we need to fog? 

Your standard cleaning routine for norovirus, or even COVID, should work. In the immediate aftermath, focus on ventilation (open windows, turn your HVAC system on high), because we’re more worried about what’s in the air than what’s on the surfaces. Your standard noro-approved cleaner will work for cleaning, and focus on high-touch areas like door handles, bathrooms, and faucets. There’s no need to hire special cleaners, fog, or do much more. After a few hours and one good standard clean and disinfection, the air in your building will be exchanged and the risk will be gone. 

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What age group are most likely to be at risk for measles? 

Most adults in the U.S. are fully vaccinated against measles with two doses of the MMR vaccine, which has been required for child care and public school in most states for decades. Lately, though, exemptions have been on the rise. In South Carolina, for example, where a major outbreak is still ongoing, the rate of religious exemptions for school vaccinations has quadrupled in the past decade. So, the largest group of people who are unvaccinated are kids and teens, but that group can also include unvaccinated adults, babies under 12 months, and immunocompromised adults who can’t get vaccines. About 90% of people who have gotten measles so far in 2025 and 2026 are kids and teens. In practice, this means that you are more likely to have a measles exposure from a guest than you are to have a measles positive employee, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen! 

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Sources: ZHH, Mayo Clinic, Spectrum News, The State

Best Read:

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We don’t often use op-eds as the best read, but we really appreciated the nuance that Dr. Elisabeth Marnik brings to this conversation, having grown up unvaccinated by a mom who loved her and had her best interests at heart. Nothing is black and white, and this is also a great reminder that shame doesn’t work to change people’s minds. 

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Opinion | I Grew Up Unvaccinated. Now I’m an Immunologist.

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