Maricopa County measles cases hit 27, the most in 30 years

Maricopa County has confirmed 27 measles cases so far in 2026, the most the county has recorded in three decades, health officials said Thursday.

The Maricopa County Department of Public Health identified a new public exposure at a Walgreens near Via Linda and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard in Scottsdale on Sept. 8 and urged anyone who visited the store that morning to watch for symptoms through Sept. 29.

County’s caseload dwarfs recent history

Maricopa County had no measles cases in 2025 and just two in 2024. Before this year, the most the county had seen in two decades was five cases in 2022, and it typically averages about one case per year.

The surge is part of a broader Arizona outbreak that began in the summer of 2025, largely concentrated in the remote Mohave County community of Colorado City, where vaccination rates are very low.

That outbreak has since spread to other parts of the state, including the Phoenix metro area, where clusters have appeared in the East Valley and Aguila.

Officials urge vaccination

Health officials said 96% of Maricopa County cases have been in unvaccinated individuals. The county is urging residents to check their immunization records and get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine if they are not up to date.

“There are two key steps to stopping this outbreak: prevention and reducing spread,” Dr. Nick Staab, chief medical officer for MCDPH, said in a May news release.

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