Cook County health officials report first 2 measles cases of 2025, list points of potential public exposure

UPDATE: Upon further investigation, the Chicago Department of Public Health has determined that the Chicago Public Library Independence Branch is no longer considered a measles exposure location, as health officials had earlier notified.

CHICAGO (WGN) — Cook County’s first two measles patients of the year are in isolation Thursday, but health officials have listed several locations where the public may have been exposed.

County health officials on Wednesday confirmed the two cases of measles, bringing the state’s total reported cases to three.

The Chicago Department of Public Health and the Cook County Department of Public Health announced that one case involves a suburban resident, whose vaccination status is unknown. The second case involves a Chicago resident who, according to health officials, traveled internationally through O’Hare International Airport in early April. 

“The individual had one prior dose of MMR vaccine,” health officials added.

Both patients have been isolated since being diagnosed.

In response to the confirmed cases, health officials listed the following points of potential exposure:

• Monday, April 21: Fittingly Delicious, 3939 W. Irving Park Rd.
• Tuesday, April 22: O’Hare Airport, 10 a.m.–8 pm, especially Terminal 1
• Wednesday, April 23: O’Hare Airport, 10 a.m.– 8 pm, especially Terminal 1
• Friday, April 25: Aldi: 7235 39th St. Lyons, IL 6053, 10 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.
• Sunday, April 27: Shell: 3901 S. Harlem Ave., Stickney, IL 60402, 10 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.
• Monday, April 28: Mobil: 2945 S. Harlem Ave, Berwyn, IL 60402, 10:20 a.m.-1 p.m.

The news comes one week after Illinois health officials reported the state’s first case of measles, which stemmed from a diagnosis downstate in Marion.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease than can lead to serious illness and, in some cases, death.

“Measles is so infectious that when you breathe, it can sort of hitch a ride on the particles that you exhale,” Dr. Kiran Joshi, interim COO at the Cook County Department of Public Health, said. “And those particles can stick around in the environment for up to two hours.”

According to health officials, symptoms of measles include rash, high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. Symptoms can appear anywhere from seven to 21 days after exposure.

Most people receive the MMR vaccine as children, which is 97% effective in preventing measles.

“The most important thing people can do to prevent measles is to ensure that they’re vaccinated,” Joshi said.

Last year, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 67 measles cases. The Chicago area had no reported cases between 2019 and the spring of 2024 before an outbreak in March and April of last year, with most of those cases tied to a former migrant shelter in Pilsen, where vaccination records weren’t always known.

Doctors say if you don’t know your MMR vaccination status, you should check with your doctor or closest public health facility. If you are not vaccinated, public health officials urge people to speak with their doctors about getting the MMR vaccine.

Doctors say it’s never too late to get vaccinated.

“What they’re going to hear is that measles is completely preventable,” Joshi said.