Andalucía still has six active outbreaks of measles in the region and this is precisely where they are

Andalucía's regional government has confirmed five new cases of measles in the last week, bringing the total number of cases that have been recorded in the region so far this year to 83. Meanwhile, the suspected case of a one-year-old girl from Huércal-Overa (Almeria) has been ruled out.

The five new cases have been registered in Vera (Almeria), with two cases with no known relationship with others in the town; one case of an eight-month-old girl, daughter of another already confirmed case in Vera; and two related to the outbreak in Torrox.

In total, 23% of the cases have been imported from Morocco (17), Belgium (one) and Denmark (one). Of the non-imported cases, 21 are isolated, with the source of infection unknown (six from Malaga, six from Vera, two from Marbella, one from Torremolinos, one from Álora, one from Casabermeja, one from Calañas, one from Huelva, one from Palos de la Frontera and one from Granada).

The regional ministry said that 31% of the cases affected children under 15 years of age (nine were one year old); and 69% affected adults (range 15 to 70 years of age). Only two cases (2%) had a history of a documented vaccination, while the rest of the cases affected non-vaccinated individuals or people whose vaccination status could not be known. Hospital admission was required in 30% of the cases.

According to the regional ministry, 13 outbreaks have been declared in 2025, of which six are still active and another seven have already been declared closed. The outbreaks are linked to the provinces of Almeria, Huelva and Malaga.

In Vera, an outbreak remains active with two confirmed cases - one from Morocco and a friend. In Huelva, there is currently one active family outbreak in Lucena del Puerto, imported from Morocco, with a total of four cases within a family of Moroccan origin.

Malaga has a family outbreak of five cases: four in the same family and another caused by hospital contact. There is also an outbreak in Vélez-Málaga, imported from Morocco, with two confirmed cases (one imported from Morocco resident in Torrox and a friend who resides in Nerja). This outbreak was declared in a healthcare setting, specifically at La Axarquía Hospital in Malaga, with two probable cases still pending confirmation involving healthcare workers who treated the imported case in the hospital's emergency department. There is also another outbreak involving four cases - two within a family setting and another two in a healthcare setting.

One outbreak still pending confirmation must also be added - it concerns a nursery in Vélez-Málaga, consisting of four initially suspected cases, of which three have been ruled out and one with a recent history of vaccination, which is still under investigation.

Of the seven outbreaks that are now closed, three were located in Huelva, with a total of eight affected; three in Malaga, with a total of 19 affected and one in El Ejido (Almeria), with two affected.

By provinces, Almeria has registered 15 cases since the beginning of the year (one in Adra, three in El Ejido, one in Níjar, one in Roquetas de Mar and nine in Vera); Granada, four cases, all in the city; Huelva, 16 cases (one in Calañas, two in Gibraleón, one in Huelva, four in Lucena del Puerto, two in Moguer, three in Palos de la Frontera, one in San Bartolomé de la Torre and two in San Juan del Puerto); Malaga is the province with the highest number of confirmed cases: 47 in total (one in Álora, one in Casabermeja, nine in Fuengirola, 18 in Malaga city, two in Marbella, seven in Mijas, one in Nerja, one in Ojén, one in Rincón de la Victoria, one in Torremolinos, one in Vélez-Málaga and four in Torrox) and, finally, one case in Seville city.

The department of health and consumer affairs has stated that, in recent weeks, the incidence of confirmed cases has again shown a downward trend with cases mainly located in the Levante Alto Almanzora and Axarquia districts. Since week 10 (March 3–9), cases have occurred in adults (mainly between the ages of 26 and 47), with only two cases in girls aged 8 and 11 of Moroccan origin, and one case involving an 8-month-old baby girl from a family of Moroccan origin. Most of the cases are imported from Morocco, related to an imported case, or linked to an outbreak.

Isolated cases of unknown source "have decreased a lot". The active outbreaks confirmed at the moment are mainly family outbreaks in adults with a small number of cases, few generations and, so far, with little transmission in the healthcare setting.

The regional health and consumer affairs ministries have reminded the public that measles is an infection that is easily transmitted, can be severe and can affect both children and unvaccinated adults. For this reason, they recommend vaccinating children according to the established guidelines and adults who are not known to be vaccinated, in order to protect those who cannot be vaccinated.

The epidemiological situation in Andalucía, the presence of clusters and the season indicate that new outbreaks are expected in the coming weeks.

According to the Ministry of Health, Spain counted 284 cases as of 25 May (88 imported, 83 related to imported cases and 113 of unknown origin). In Europe cases have been reported in Austria (95), Belgium (95), Czech Republic (10), France (427), Germany (148), Hungary (three), Italy (227), Netherlands (375), Poland (46), Portugal (19), Romania (6,401) and Sweden (six).

After experiencing a major measles outbreak in October 2023, when it registered more than 40,000 cases, including 150 deaths, Morocco has shown a downward trend over the past eleven weeks following a nationwide catch-up vaccination campaign. The World Health Organization (Who) currently assesses the risk in Morocco as medium. For this reason, there are no travel or trade restrictions in Morocco. The US has reported 1,001 confirmed measles cases, including three deaths, across 31 jurisdictions in 2025 up to May 8. Of the reported cases, 93% were linked to 14 outbreaks.