FL Measles Outbreak Is Largest Among U.S. Colleges In Recent History: Reports

AVE MARIA, FL — As measles cases spike across the U.S., a Florida university is reporting the largest outbreak of the disease at an American college in modern history, Fox News reported.

As of Monday afternoon, more than 40 cases were reported at Ave Maria University in Collier County, Fox said.

Nearly 60 students were quarantined because of the spread of measles across campus as of Sunday, CBS 12 reported.

“Our ongoing priority remains the health, safety, and well-being of every member of our campus community,” Ave Maria officials said in a campus health update. “We continue to provide comprehensive support through ongoing monitoring, free vaccination clinics offered by the DOH, established quarantine protocols, transparent communication with our students and families, and the spiritual care of our Campus Ministry priests.”

Officials added, “The vast majority of the Ave Maria University community is vaccinated and not at risk.”

The outbreak at Ave Maria comes at a time measles is on the rise across the country.

Dr. Thomas Unnasch, a professor emeritus at USF Health, told Fox 13 that vaccination rates are contributing to the spread of measles.

Herd immunity for the disease requires vaccination rates of 93 to 94 percent, while current experts estimate current immunity levels are closer to 90 to 92 percent, reports said.

“That gap means there are more non-immune, susceptible people walking around,” Unnasch said.
Florida has 68 reported cases since Jan. 1, according to the Florida Department of Health’s Reportable Diseases Frequency Report, which was last updated Feb. 7.

Collier County has reported the highest number of cases with 46.

Other counties with reported measles cases as of Feb. 7, according to state data, include:

• Alachua: 2 cases
• Broward: 1
• Duval: 6
• Escambia: 3
• Hillsborough: 2
• Lee: 1
• Manatee: 3
• Miami-Dade: 1
• Pinellas: 1
• St. Johns: 2

Thirty-five of these cases were acquired in Florida, while four cases were acquired in other states and two were acquired outside the U.S., the FDOH said. The origin of 27 cases is unknown.

The majority of the cases — 29 — were reported among 15- to 19-year-olds, while 27 cases were reported in the 20- to 24-year-old age range, the department said.

Florida has the third-highest number of measles cases in the country as of Feb. 12, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

Since the start of the year, 910 cases have been confirmed in the U.S., the CDC said. In 2025, there were 2,280 confirmed cases.

In 2026, 904 of the total cases were reported across 24 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York City, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, the CDC said.

Six cases were reported by international visitors to the U.S.

Florida has 63 reported cases, the third highest number in the country, since the start of the year, as of Feb. 12, according to the CDC.

The Sunshine State is behind South Carolina, which has 616 reported cases during this timeframe, and Utah, which has 96 reported cases, data shows.

Ninety percent of all cases reported in the U.S. this year are associated with outbreaks, which are defined as 3 or more related cases, by the CDC. Sixty-two are from outbreaks in 2026 while 760 are associated with outbreaks that started last year.

There have been five new outbreaks this year, the agency said.

Dr. James Hillman, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist at HCA Florida Brandon, told Fox 13,

“We can prevent illnesses like this with immunizations. That’s what makes this so frustrating.”
Before the introduction of the measles vaccine, 48,000 people were hospitalized with the disease in the U.S. each year and 400 to 500 people died annually, CDC data shows, according to NBC Miami.

Earlier this month, Dr. Mehmet Ozz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, urged people to get vaccinated for measles as cases rise.

“Take the vaccine, please. We have a solution for our problem,” he said.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo and Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in September a push to get rid of mandatory childhood vaccinations in the state.

Ladapo cast current vaccine requirements in schools and elsewhere as an “immoral” intrusion on people's rights bordering on “slavery,” and hampers parents' ability to make health decisions for their children.

“People have a right to make their own decisions, informed decisions,” said Ladapo, who has frequently clashed with the medical establishment, at a news conference in Valrico, Florida, in the Tampa area. “They don’t have the right to tell you what to put in your body. Take it away from them.”

In December, the FDOH took steps toward eliminating requirements that Florida children receive the hepatitis B, varicella and Haemophilus influenzae type b or Hib vaccines in order to attend public or private K-12 schools by hosting a public hearing on the proposal, U.S. News & World Report said. The proposal also does away with a requirement for the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for children attending child care facilities.

Other vaccines, including measles, are required under state law for children to attend school. Changing these vaccine mandates would require action by the Florida State Legislature.

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.