A recent measles case in Santa Barbara County has health officials monitoring the situation, while a nationwide rise in cases is raising broader concerns about vaccination rates.
Henning Ansorg, Public Health Officer with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, said the woman who contracted measles was infected while traveling.
“She got infected during travel on an international flight,” Ansorg said.
Ansorg said the risk to the community is now low because the woman has fully recovered and is no longer contagious.
“There are really no risks for the community. The potential contacts she, this person, came in contact with during infectious periods have already been tracked down,” he said.
The local case comes as measles cases continue to rise nationwide.
As of Aug. 6, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,465 confirmed measles cases across 47 U.S. jurisdictions in 2026, already surpassing the total reported during all of 2025.
94% of those cases have been linked to outbreaks.
Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons, an infectious disease specialist with Cottage Health, said declining vaccination rates are contributing to concern among health officials.
“One of the things the infectious community is worried about is that our communities’ defenses have dropped,” Fitzgibbons said. “Vaccination rates across the country are dropping. We simply have a situation where measles, the most infectious disease we have as humans, is really getting a foothold.”
At San Ysidro Pharmacy in Montecito, staff said they have not seen an increase in community members requesting measles vaccines.
Sherry Saffarnia, a pharmacist at the pharmacy, said people should make sure their vaccinations are up to date.
“When there’s a case, it means it hasn’t been done for a while, so you really have to update,” Saffarnia said.
But some Santa Barbara residents said they were unaware of the recent measles case.
Nathan Williamson said he had not heard about it.
“No, I can’t say that I am. But now that it’s been brought to my attention, I will definitely inquire about it a little more,” Williamson said.
