Miami-Dade County Public Schools officials confirmed Tuesday that a measles case has been reported at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, marking the first case of the disease in Florida this year.
The infected individual is a student aged between 15 and 19. District officials have notified parents and staff about the case.
This marks Florida’s first reported case and contributes to a growing number of cases across at least 10 states, including Texas, which has seen an outbreak of at least 146 cases of the vaccine-preventable disease, with one unvaccinated child dying.
This case also comes on the same day that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an urgent epidemiological alert regarding the sharp rise in measles cases across the Americas. PAHO’s warning highlights a significant increase in cases, with 268 confirmed cases—including one death—reported in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, and the United States as of February 21, 2025. This represents a stark rise from just 60 cases during the same period in 2024.
Despite the region’s re-verification as measles-free in 2024, the disease is again spreading due to gaps in vaccination coverage, especially among adolescents and young adults. In 2025, 69% of confirmed cases in the Americas were among individuals older than five years, and 63% of those were unvaccinated.
For the Caribbean, where tourism and international travel are major factors, PAHO has expressed particular concern. The risk of imported cases is high, and PAHO is urging Caribbean nations to strengthen immunization programs and surveillance systems to prevent outbreaks.
The recent case at Miami Palmetto Senior High adds to growing concerns across the U.S. and the Americas. Last year, there was a smaller series of cases at another South Florida school. In February 2024, Broward County Public Schools reported about a half-dozen measles cases at Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston.
As the disease spreads in neighboring countries and cases rise across the region, experts urge heightened vigilance and improved vaccination efforts to protect vulnerable populations.
