The Florida Department of Health in Collier County is providing additional resources to monitor suspected measles cases and minimize further transmission. DOH-Collier is working closely with officials from Ave Maria University, the department stated in a notice. A count by Johns Hopkins University places Florida fourth in the nation for confirmed measles cases in 2026, but warns of underreporting as only 17 cases have been reported, behind South Carolina (548), Utah (48), and Arizona (34). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have counted 733 cases so far in 2026, which in less than a month and a half is nearly a third of the 2,276 for all of 2025, when there was a record number of infections since 1991. Although the disease was eradicated in the United States in the year 2000, infections have surged due to a decline in vaccinations amid 'misinformation,' according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). In fact, more than 9 out of 10 patients, 95%, are unvaccinated, according to the CDC. The University of Florida has told its students that if they have not had contact with infected people, 'there is no reason to believe they are in danger,' and also assured that 'the vast majority of students, faculty, and staff are immune' because they were vaccinated or infected previously. The cases in Florida are reported in a context of debate, after the state's surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, announced last September that Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, would work to eliminate the vaccination mandates established by state legislation. Measles outbreaks in Florida's universities, the state with the fourth most cases in the United States, have raised alarms from authorities after a year in which the country had the highest number of infections since 1991, although the disease had been considered eradicated in 2000. Ave Maria University reported at least 20 cases in the south of the state, while the University of Florida, in the north, reported two patients, although the number could be higher as the state Department of Health (DOH) is still tracing contacts and other possible cases.
