State officials announce measles outbreak in Shasta County, with eight cases now confirmed
Shasta has the most reported cases of measles out of any county in the state, the California Department of Public Health said yesterday. The county, which announced an initial measles case on Jan. 31, has not yet released an announcement about the new cases.
2.10.2026 3:40 p.m.: Update from the county’s press release
The Shasta Health and Human Services Agency published a press release earlier today about the seven new measles cases. The release confirmed the information already made public by the state yesterday, saying that the additional cases are an “expected development based on early contact tracing.”
The agency explained that all seven of the new patients were close contacts of the first case, who have been working closely with Public Health “from the beginning” and agreed to stay home to isolate before becoming contagious. The agency said that since the individuals with measles isolated, they did not have contact with the public, and no new exposure sites have been designated.
Shasta County’s initial measles case has now expanded to an outbreak with eight confirmed cases, state officials have announced.
In a press release sent out yesterday, the California Department of Public Health urged Californians to ensure they’re fully vaccinated against measles as local health departments across the state are reporting new cases.
So far, cases have been reported in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and Shasta Counties, with Shasta having the most reported cases. The state public health department said that this outbreak is the state’s first measles outbreak since 2020, and that all of the individuals who contracted measles were either unvaccinated or had an unknown history of vaccination.
Shasta Health Officer Dr. James Mu did not initially address the increase in cases in the county this morning during a 10-minute presentation to the board of supervisors that he focused on the health care provider shortage. He briefly discussed the matter after multiple public speakers expressed concerns about the outbreak and after Supervisor Allen Long and Chair Chris Kelstrom questioned him on the increased cases. Mu said the new cases were among the family and neighbors of the first individual identified to have measles in the county in January.
“This expansion of confirmed number[s] does not pose a threat to the public at the current moment” because the outbreak has not expanded beyond family and neighbors, Mu said during the meeting. He added that the county will provide an update when there are confirmed cases outside of family and neighbors.
The most recent update about measles coming from the county was on Feb. 6, when a sixth location where the single previously known individual with measles might have exposed others was shared. A spokesperson with the county’s Health and Human Services Agency said in an email to Shasta Scout today that officials are working on a press release to announce the new cases.
As of Feb. 9, a total of 17 measles cases were reported statewide, according to the release, with almost half in Shasta. In South Carolina, where measles has been spreading since last October, there are now 933 reported cases, the state’s public health department said.
“The United States is experiencing the highest numbers of measles cases, outbreaks, hospitalizations and deaths in more than 30 years, driven by populations with low vaccination rates,” CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Erica Pan said in the press release. “We all need to work together to share the medical evidence, benefits, and safety of vaccines to provide families the information they need to protect children and our communities.”
The department explained that measles is highly contagious, and those who are unvaccinated — particularly young children and pregnant people — face the highest risk of severe illness and even death. About 90% of those who are unvaccinated and exposed to measles will contract the disease, the press release said.
Supervisor Kevin Crye said during the meeting that while he and his children have been vaccinated, he doesn’t support “forcing” the vaccine on anyone. In comments today and to Shasta Scout last week, Mu encouraged the public to quickly get up to date with the two-dose measles vaccine, if needed. Vaccination status can be checked here.
Mu also urged anyone experiencing symptoms to contact a medical provider immediately to get tested, though he added that those with symptoms seeking testing or treatment should not go to a public place, such as an emergency room, without calling ahead to ensure special precautions to prevent spread of the disease.
Measles symptoms include a fever that lasts a couple days followed by a rash, runny nose, cough and pink eye. Those infected with measles can spread the disease about four days before a rash appears.
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Unfortunately, with the mindset of board majority and their handpicked Public Health officer, Dr. Mu, Shasta County has transitioned from proactive health policy to reactive health policy. Under Dr. Ramstrom, who was fired for being proactive on health mandate recommendations, we now say don’t worry about getting vaccinated since it is a personal choice. I look at vaccination primarily as a way to protect others with compromised immunity and secondly as a way to protect myself. Now that we are a measles hot spot, suddenly Dr. Mu is recommending everyone get their shot if they haven’t already or have natural immunity from being previously infected. This same attitude and resistance to sensible health protocols recommended by Dr. Ramstrom resulted in COVID severely impacting our area, making Shasta County one of the top 10 for per capita death rates in our state for preventable deaths.
So Shasta County has half the cases in the entire state? Is our large percentage of anti-vaxxers putting the health of others at risk? Did Dr Mu ever get a Master’s degree in Public Health? Will Crye support mandates to slow the spread or will we have a big measles party?
Didn’t take long for this to be become political did it? Such a joke. Maybe we should be asking how the measles actually got here?
Not sure how it returned here but it was essentially gone for decades before we lost herd immunity. Our current administration and their new vax guidelines didn’t help matters, did it?
You mean from other countries? Sure that’s part of it that nobody likes to mention. I think we’ve made great strides in significantly reducing illegal immigration over the last year or so.
However, the part we can immediately control are our own actions regarding responsible Public Health decisions surrounding measles. That is, get vaccinated, stay home if you are sick, call your provider if you’re sick to find out/schedule safety protocols for examination.
The problem comes when you have a rogue supervisor (and low information followers) casting shade on our public health officer’s (a medical doctor) recommendation to get vaccinated.
That seems to be hard here in Shasta County and why were always number one in public health deaths and infectious disease.
Wait a garshdarn minute, measles only spreads to neighbors and family? So are all the unvaccinated kids at Ninja Gym in the clear? Is that why Ninja Gym is throwing a big President’s Day bash for the kids’ holiday?
Hey, Shasta Scout, please update the article with the press release sent out by the county HOURS ago.
Comment via Ian Pinngon (February 6, 2026 at 2:36 pm – Shasta County Public Health identifies sixth site of possible measles exposure)
“…the absence of clear communication about measles genotyping creates an information gap that can undermine confidence. When authorities withhold or fail to address available scientific details, even if preliminary, the public may perceive uncertainty, inconsistency, or avoidance…Measles genotyping is not an obscure or irrelevant technicality; it is a standard epidemiological tool used to determine whether cases are linked, imported, or part of a broader transmission chain…Failure to proactively discuss genotype information also creates space for speculation, misinformation, and erosion of credibility…By clearly addressing measles genotyping as part of its communications strategy, Shasta County Public Health would reinforce trust, demonstrate professionalism, and strengthen the collective response needed to contain the outbreak effectively…”
STRAIGHT TO THE POINT!
Shasta County Public Health officials apparently are IGNORING those concerns.
To be fair, genotyping, if performed, is costly and can have a turnaround time of up to 2 weeks. In this case, with 7 secondary cases linked to the index case, there is questionable necessity for genotyping anyone other than the index case. It may be that (assuming there actually was a genotype performed) results have not been received.
Wait, what? The county health officer says don’t worry about it and there won’t be another update until there’s more cases on top of these new ones? But then the public health department says they’re working on a press release? Which is it? Does anybody know what’s going on? Who is actually in charge of this and how are we supposed to trust them now?
It’s a three ring circus over there being ran by……🙉🙈🙊….. 🫏🫏🫏🫏🫏🫏.
The sky is falling, the sky is falling! MuyBNe2, I’m sure by now that HHSA, with only 8 cases, has tracked these individuals to find out where they’ve been recently and how they may have contracted the measles. Just hang on, and I’m sure more information will be forthcoming shortly
This is not a good look, HHSA. The County should be out in front of state press releases on a situation like 8 measles cases which would typically be a 5-alarm fire for the public health department. I understand that Dr. Mu said at the Board meeting that “This expansion of confirmed number[s] does not pose a threat to the public at the current moment”, but what I don’t think was made adequately clear – why is there no threat to the public? Were the 7 new cases already in quarantine when they became infectious? This would be the most likely reason there is no threat to the public, but needs to be made clear. What is the public health department doing to monitor for new cases, including how they are coordinating with the medical community? Were any of the 8 cases vaccinated? Continued reminders about the best prevention messages and what symptoms to watch for. As a former staff, I know what these answers are likely to be, but the public should be kept informed.
To address my earlier comment, I’m glad to see the County has since released this information. In the future, I hope this type of information comes from HHSA first before the state puts out any media notifications.