Two unvaccinated Sacramento County children have tested positive for measles, and public health officials say one case appears tied to the large outbreak in South Carolina while the other may have exposed patients and staff at a Kaiser Permanente facility in Roseville. Both kids are recovering at home as county teams start the painstaking work of contact tracing and notifying anyone who might have been exposed.
Sacramento County Public Health confirmed the cases in a statement reported by CBS Sacramento. "Measles is highly contagious and can easily be brought back into our community through travel," Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said in that statement.
National Surge Tied To South Carolina Outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 1,136 confirmed measles cases in the United States as of Feb. 26, 2026, and health officials say a major outbreak in South Carolina accounts for a large share of those infections, according to the CDC. Nearby Placer County has already seen a small cluster traced to travel to South Carolina, underscoring how fast the virus can cross state lines, as reported in a story on a measles cluster in Placer County.
California Count Climbs As Local Exposure Tracing Begins
With Sacramento County's confirmations, California's statewide measles total for 2026 has reached 26 cases, county health officials told CBS Sacramento. Local contact-tracing teams are working through lists of people who may have been at the Roseville Kaiser facility while the child was infectious, advising them about vaccination, possible testing, and what symptoms to watch for.
How Sacramento Officials Are Responding
Sacramento County Public Health has been urging residents to pull out their immunization records, make sure they are up to date on the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, and call ahead before visiting clinics, urgent care, or emergency rooms so staff can take precautions if measles is suspected. The county is directing residents to the California Digital Vaccine Record and local clinics for vaccine appointments, as well as for post-exposure guidance if they think they may have been in contact with a case.
What Parents Should Do Now
Parents are being asked to keep an eye out for fever, cough, runny nose, or a rash and to call their child's health care provider before showing up in person so clinics can avoid further spread in waiting rooms. Two doses of MMR vaccine, the first at 12 to 15 months and the second at 4 to 6 years, provide the standard protection, and infants as young as 6 months can receive an early dose before international travel, per the CDC.
Why Containment Takes So Much Work
Containing even a handful of measles cases is labor intensive. Public health staff must track down and interview contacts, arrange testing or preventive treatment when appropriate, and monitor potentially exposed people for days, sometimes weeks. A small cluster can quickly soak up a county's limited time and staff. Health departments across California are being asked to juggle that workload with fewer workers and tighter budgets, which complicates how quickly they can respond, according to KPBS.
Anyone who believes they were exposed to measles is urged to call their health care provider or Sacramento County Public Health's communicable disease unit for guidance and vaccine options. The county's advisory page lists local resources and clinic information. For national information on symptoms, complications, and vaccine recommendations, residents can consult the measles resources on the CDC website.
