Measles in Kerala now seen across age groups, including vaccinated people and infants

Measles, which once struck mainly children between one and five, is now being seen in people of all ages in Kerala, including some who were fully vaccinated and infants too young for the vaccine, according to an analysis by The Hindu on 7 November.

The cases among infants younger than nine months are a particular worry, because the first routine dose of the measles-rubella vaccine is given only at nine months. The spread of the disease into older age groups and among vaccinated people, the analysis says, means the State must look again at how measles is moving through communities.

Malappuram district has been the centre of the latest outbreak. It had confirmed more than 100 cases by late September, mostly in Valavannur, Kuttippuram, Vengara and Pookkottur, and two children, aged 10 months and 18 months, died within a week. Only 63% of children in the district received both doses of the vaccine in 2025-26, health department data show. The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights registered a case and ordered officials to find children who had missed their shots.

Why vaccinated people can get measles

Two doses of the vaccine protect about 97% of people, but not everyone, and when coverage in a community falls below about 95%, the virus finds enough unprotected people to keep spreading, reaching the few vaccinated people in whom the vaccine did not work. Infants are normally protected for some months by antibodies from their mothers; that protection fades earlier when the mothers themselves were vaccinated rather than infected as children.

The bigger picture

Kerala’s overall vaccination record is among the best in India, but Malappuram has long lagged behind, partly because of hesitancy about vaccines. India has set a goal of eliminating measles and rubella, and outbreaks like this one are the main obstacle.

What you can do

Check that every child in the family has had both doses, at 9 to 12 months and at 16 to 24 months. Both are free at government health centres.