{"id":158028,"date":"2026-02-17T04:11:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T04:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/158028\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T04:11:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T04:11:15","slug":"largest-measles-outbreak-in-recent-history-reported-on-southwestern-florida-college-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/158028\/","title":{"rendered":"Largest measles outbreak in recent history reported on southwestern Florida college campus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>More than <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/15\/health\/what-are-koplik-spots-the-sneaky-sign-of-measles-you-might-get-before-a-rash\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">40\u00a0measles cases\u00a0<\/a>have been reported at Ave Maria University in southwest Florida, marking the largest outbreak on an American college campus in recent history.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The situation at the private Catholic college comes amid a broader national increase in measles cases, with 2,280 confirmed infections nationwide in 2025 and more than 900 cases reported so far in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince the start of the semester, 48 nurse-assessed students have progressed beyond the contagious period and now have natural immunity,\u201d Ave Maria University posted in an online update on Feb. 10.<\/p>\n<p>Several universities have reported <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/14\/health\/how-long-diseases-like-measles-and-the-flu-linger-in-the-air\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">measles activity<\/a> this year. Clemson University and Anderson University\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/13\/us-news\/measles-spreads-in-california-as-doctors-issue-warning\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">in South Carolina<\/a>\u00a0each reported single cases that led to the quarantine of a larger group of students.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The University of Florida also reported exposure in two specific classes at its Gainesville campus.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38510097\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/photo-jeffrey-greenberg-universal-images-121502677.jpg\" alt=\"Sign for Ave Maria University in front of a Roman Catholic university building.\" class=\"wp-image-38510097\"  \/>Measles outbreak rocks Ave Maria University in Florida with over 40 cases, largest on campus. Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The Florida Department of Health (DOH) recently updated its data to show 46 confirmed measles cases across Collier County from Jan. 1 through Feb. 7, with the university serving as the primary site of the cluster.<\/p>\n<p>The contagious period for measles includes the four days before and after a rash appears, according to the DOH.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.33333333;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38510099\" width=\"787\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/young-man-showing-hand-spots-120680181_26b76c.jpg\" alt=\"Hand of a young man with a rash from hand, foot, and mouth disease.\" class=\"wp-image-38510099\"  \/>This surge is part of a national rise; 48 students now immune, other colleges also affected. LoloStock \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll nurse-assessed students on campus within the four-day contagious period following the onset of a rash are in quarantine,\u201d the university stated in the latest update.<\/p>\n<p>Ave Maria University requires\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/09\/us-news\/measles-outbreak-surges-in-us-as-dr-oz-begs-people-to-get-vaccinated\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">proof of vaccination\u00a0<\/a>but, in accordance with Florida law, allows students to opt out by signing a waiver for religious or personal reasons.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cvast majority\u201d of the campus community is vaccinated, according to university health updates. The school remains open for normal operations, including in-person classes and Mass.<\/p>\n<p>People with a\u00a0history of infection\u00a0or who have received the full series of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) immunization are 98% protected and are unlikely to contract measles, according to the DOH.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 40\u00a0measles cases\u00a0have been reported at Ave Maria University in southwest Florida, marking the largest outbreak on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158029,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[18924,75772,28,30,29,571,17196,1801,4278],"class_list":{"0":"post-158028","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-colleges-and-universities","9":"tag-diseases","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-florida-headlines","12":"tag-florida-news","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-measles","15":"tag-south-carolina","16":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}