25 cases of measles have been reported in North Carolina since Dec. 2025, and a person infected with the measles virus was reported to have visited many local Raleigh areas while still contagious on Feb. 6.

Matt Koci, a professor of virology and immunology, said the measles virus is the most contagious virus that experts know of.

“It causes respiratory disease, but the cells of the body that attack one of the cells and it wipes out are the cells whose job it is to remember other infections you’ve seen,” Koci said. “So it can actually delete parts of your immune system that are what give you protection from either previous vaccines, or even previous infections you’ve had, where your immune systems learned how to respond to them. Measles can wipe those out and actually end up making you susceptible to things you’ve previously been immune to for years later.”

Tyler Pearce, assistant director of campus health, said if a person has not received the measles vaccine and comes into contact with the virus, they will likely get infected.

“It’s super contagious. It’s the most contagious virus we have on Earth,” Pearce said. “If there were 10 people in a room, and one person was infected, and no one else had any type of vaccination or immunity, it’s very likely that nine of those ten people would catch the virus.”

Symptoms of measles can vary depending on the stage of infection. Seven to 14 days after infection, initial symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. Two to three days after initial symptoms, Koplik spots can appear and three to five days after initial symptoms, a measles rash can occur. 

Koplik spots are a telltale sign that distinguishes measles from other viral rashes. Pearce said these small white spots, usually found in the mouth, are a sign of measles.

“[Koplik spots] usually appear in the mouth, and they’re very specific to measles, which is why that sign is one that you should be concerned with measles,” Pearce said. “They usually appear in the one to two-day range before the actual skin rash occurs. And then they will go on for a couple of days and usually disappear, as that actual skin rash is developing and progressing.” 

Koci said that while the virus is not the deadliest, it can still have major, long-lasting impacts on health.

“There are diseases that have higher mortality rates; it’s not Ebola, but it’s not just a rash. It’s a pretty painful and discomforting disease to have,” Koci said. “It can lead to blindness in children if they’re malnourished. It leads to all these other immune complications, and after the fact, it can be fatal in some cases.”

The measles virus attacks other immune cells, killing them, leaving the host vulnerable to other viruses and diseases that they may not have been susceptible to before infection. Koci said this attack on the body’s cells is what makes measles so dangerous.

“[Measles causes] what we like to call immune amnesia, where it’ll go in and end up killing your memory cells and your immune system. And so it can end up wiping out your ability to respond to diseases that you should have protection against, for weeks, months, in some cases, even years after you’ve been infected with measles,” Koci said. 

Pearce echoed Koci’s claim that immune amnesia is extremely dangerous.

“[Measles] can lead to other things, like pneumonia, and it can definitely result in hospitalization,” Pearce said. “There’s also this fun thing that it can do, where it can trick your body into not recognizing other diseases. It’s called immune amnesia, which can be very fatal or disastrous for folks, especially anyone who is immunocompromised.”

Unlike other viruses, measles can linger in the air. Pearce said this is why individuals who have been in the vicinity of an infected person should be aware of the symptoms, even after the infected person has left.

“[Measles] can stay in the air for up to two hours, so if you’re at a place and you are infectious, it can stay in the air for up to two hours and stay on surfaces for up to two hours,” Pearce said. “So it just really lingers. And if people continuously are coming in and out of those spaces, not knowing that there has been that it is an exposure location, it puts a lot of folks at risk.”

Koci said the virus is severe and the public should be advised of the scale of the measles virus and how to stay safe.

“In many cases, because the [measles] vaccines have been so successful and people haven’t seen the impact of these diseases at scale, [the viruses] are not thought to cause problems because nobody has had a real personal experience with the disease,” Koci said. “And so, there’s this idea of, ‘well, I’ve never seen it. So how bad could it be?”

Pearce said students who are unsure about their vaccination status, or who wish to receive the measles vaccine, can do so at Campus Health.

“We here at Campus Health, if there are students on campus who are unsure of their vaccination status or if they know they have not received those vaccines, we are here to offer them. We can do that five days a week. We are here for the students,” Pearce said. “And that vaccination, it’s the best protection you can have against measles, and that protects not only you, but also protects those around you, your family, your friends, as well as the whole campus and community.”

NC State Campus Health offers a variety of resources on measles, how to obtain vaccination if wished, recent updates about cases of measles in the area and steps to take if exposed.