Collier County is now up to 83 cases of measles since an outbreak began in late January on the campus of Ave Maria University.
Statewide there have been 114 cases of the highly infectious disease since the start of 2026.
The numbers are the latest weekly update as of Feb. 26 on the state Department of Health’s reportable disease website. The data lags a week and covers through Feb. 21.
Lee County has had two cases since the start of the year, one more case since the prior reporting period.
Ave Maria University, a small Catholic school in eastern Collier with roughly 1,400 students faced the start of a measles outbreak in late January and has since has become the site of the largest measles outbreak on a college campus since measles rebounded last year in the U.S.
Collier had not had any measles cases for decades.
Why measles is so contagious?
The virus spreads through contact with an infected person.
An infected person can spread measles to others even before knowing they have it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The virus can linger in the air for about two hours after an person has left the room and someone not immunized is exposed, where infection is almost all but certain.
The virus lives in the nose and mucus in the throat of an infected person. It can spread to others through coughing and sneezing.
If you have measles, up to 90% of the people close to you who are not immune will also become infected, according to the CDC.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: No slowdown on measles outbreak in SW FL. Collier at 83 cases, Lee 2
Reporting by Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
