Health Department

​Measles Exposure Reported at Cincinnati Children’s Monday Evening

CHD and Cincinnati Children’s are contacting all people exposed with testing and monitoring instructions

CINCINNATI – September 17, 2026 – The Cincinnati Health Department (CHD) has been notified about a measles exposure at the Cincinnati Children’s Emergency Department (ED), located at Burnet Ave.

CHD and Cincinnati Children’s are contacting those who may have been exposed to measles with further information and instructions.

At this time, there are no active measles cases in the City of Cincinnati.

Key Facts

• At approximately 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, two out-of-state individuals went to the Cincinnati Children’s ED with symptoms consistent with measles.
• Test results received Wednesday evening, Sept. 16, confirmed the individuals had measles and were contagious at the time of their ED visit.
• CHD and Cincinnati Children’s have identified individuals who were potentially exposed to measles and are contacting them directly by phone.
• The potential scope of exposure includes two windows of time: Monday, Sept. 14 between 5:40 p.m. and 7:48 p.m. (two hours and eight minutes), and between 11:15 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14 and 1:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15 (two hours). It also includes the shared air space of the public areas of the ED. It DOES NOT include other areas of Cincinnati Children’s or any time outside of the two windows mentioned above.
• CHD and Cincinnati Children’s are contacting those people on the list with more information and next steps.

What Cincinnati Needs to Know

• There are no active measles cases in Cincinnati. These patients were exposed to measles in the state in which they live and have since been discharged from Cincinnati Children’s and returned to their home state.
• Anyone who believes they are displaying measles symptoms should contact their medical provider immediately and should NOT go to healthcare facility without contacting it first for instructions.
• CHD recommends that anyone who has not been previously vaccinated for Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) should talk to their provider about getting vaccinated.
• After a measles exposure, measles symptoms usually develop between 5-10 days but can take as long as long as 21 days.
• Further information about measles and measles immunity can be found at the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website: Measles | Measles Vaccines | Measle FAQs.

How are People Exposed to Measles?

• Measles is highly contagious and spreads through the air.
• When someone with measles coughs, sneezes, talks, or breathes, virus particles are released into the air.
• People can become infected by breathing the air, even if they don’t have direct contact with the person who has measles.
• The virus can remain in the air and infect others for up to 2 hours after the infected person has left the room or area.

Contacting those Exposed

• People who were in the Cincinnati Children’s ED during the exposure windows and who HAVE NOT spoken directly with either CHD or Cincinnati Children’s on Thursday should call CHD at (513) 357-7462.
• Only those who were in the Cincinnati Children’s ED during the exposure windows and have NOT spoken with either organization should reach out to CHD.​

MMR Vaccinations

• The MMR vaccine is highly effective at protecting against measles infection, and contracting measles when you are vaccinated is rare.
• One dose of the MMR vaccine generally provides a 93% rate of protection, and two doses generally provides a 97% rate of protection against measles infection.