Measles Outbreak Hits Florida College

More than 40 people have fallen ill at Ave Maria University, raising fears that college campuses may soon experience more measles outbreaks.


Zack Wittman for The New York Times

By Teddy Rosenbluth
Feb. 13, 2026

More than 40 measles cases have been reported at Ave Maria University in southwest Florida, the largest outbreak on a college campus in recent history. ... The outbreak at the private Catholic college has raised concerns among university leaders and public health experts that measles, which has largely been considered a childhood illness, may present a growing threat to college students who aren’t vaccinated.

Measles has already disrupted several campuses across the country this year. ... In South Carolina, more than 80 students at Clemson University and at Anderson University were quarantined in January after each institution reported a case on campus. Officials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison notified roughly 4,000 people this month that they had been exposed to the virus. Also this month, officials at the University of Florida informed students that two classes at its Gainesville campus had been exposed.

Most colleges require students to provide proof of vaccination against measles, but many allow students to claim religious or personal exemptions. There is no national data on vaccination rates among college students, but anecdotally, universities have noticed an uptick in personal exemptions in recent years, said Dr. Sarah Van Orman, past president of the American College Health Association and chief campus health officer at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Van Orman said that many colleges are now preparing for the possibility of measles outbreaks on their campuses, something that would have been considered very unlikely just a few years ago. ... “For most of us, it’s not if we’ll get a case, it’s when,” Dr. Van Orman said. { snip} Ave Maria University asks students to submit proof that they have received the measles vaccine, which also protects against mumps and rubella. But the college also allows students to opt out if they sign a waiver acknowledging that they are aware of the diseases’ risks, in concordance with Florida law.

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Teddy Rosenbluth is a Times reporter covering health news, with a special focus on medical misinformation.

News

Ave Maria University stops releasing measles data. Why it matters

Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News
Feb. 13, 2026, 3:57 p.m. ET

Ave Maria University is no longer releasing data on how many students are recovering from a campus measles outbreak and how many are currently quarantined.

Instead the Catholic university in eastern Collier County will rely on case data from the state Department of Health’s reportable disease website.

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