Alert for a measles outbreak in Mallorca with at least six cases

PalmaThe Public Health Surveillance Service has detected at least six people affected by a measles outbreak in Mallorca, as reported this Monday by the Ministry of Health. The cases are related and the patients have been treated in the same hospital, although Public Health has classified the outbreak as community-acquired and not of sanitary origin. The epidemiological investigation has determined that the first case was that of a minor tourist who attended the Pediatric Emergency Department of Son Espases Hospital on July 19. The secondary cases began to show symptoms at the end of July. Five of the six affected were not vaccinated against measles, while the sixth has no vaccination record.

Following the detection of the outbreak, the Directorate General of Public Health, in coordination with IB-Salut and in accordance with the protocols of the National Network of Epidemiological Surveillance, has activated a monitoring and control plan. The objective is to detect possible new cases and implement prevention and protection measures to contain transmission. Public Health is carrying out contact tracing of confirmed cases and has asked individuals who have been in close contact to strictly monitor their health status for 23 days after exposure, especially if they are not vaccinated.

In addition, Public Health has sent an internal recommendation to healthcare facilities to use FFP2 masks in healthcare settings as a priority measure for outbreak prevention and control. Self-monitoring of symptoms and review of the vaccination status of staff in health centers and hospitals in Mallorca have also been established.

Cases on the rise

The detection of this new outbreak occurs in a context of an increase in measles cases both nationally and internationally. In the Balearic Islands, only one case was detected in 2019, and none were registered between 2020 and 2023. In 2024, however, the figure rose to six cases, while in 2025 it soared to 35.

Of these 35 cases from last year, 31 were registered in Mallorca; 3 in Ibiza (as part of an imported outbreak) and 1 in Formentera, also of foreign origin. Of the 35 affected, 24 were not vaccinated, and for the remaining cases, the vaccination schedule was not recorded. In Mallorca, 22 of the 31 cases registered in 2025 were part of an outbreak in the Tramuntana healthcare sector. Three were isolated cases, three more corresponded to a household transmission outbreak, and the remaining three were imported cases.

Public Health reminds that complete protection against measles requires two doses of the vaccine. In the Balearic Islands, vaccination is part of the public and free schedule. The first dose is administered at 12 months, using the triple viral vaccine, while the second is administered at three years, with the tetravalent vaccine. Currently, vaccination coverage in the Islands is 91.11% of the target population.

Public Health recommends that people born after 1978 who are not vaccinated or have not had the disease should take advantage of any medical consultation to review their vaccination history and complete, if necessary, the schedule. Systematic vaccination against measles began in Spain in 1978 with a monovalent vaccine. From 1981 onwards, it was replaced by the triple viral vaccine, which also protects against rubella and mumps.

Highly contagious

Measles is an infectious disease caused by a virus with a high transmission capacity. Among the most characteristic symptoms are fever and the appearance of a skin rash, which may be accompanied by conjunctivitis, sneezing, coughing, and general malaise. An infected person can transmit the virus from four days before the rash appears until four days after. The usual incubation period is between 10 and 14 days, although it can range from 7 to 23 days. The virus is transmitted mainly through nasal or throat secretions from an infected person and through droplets released when they cough or sneeze. It can also remain active for up to two hours on certain surfaces.