August Communicable

Disease Updates

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Measles in Wisconsin

Wisconsin has joined surrounding states in reporting measles cases. As of this week, 21 cases of measles have been identified in Wisconsin. The state is seeing community spread, which means measles is starting to spread from person to person within a community, instead of being contained after someone gets sick.

As of August 28, no cases have been identified in Eau Claire County. Right now, the risk to the community remains low. To read more, visit www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/news/releases/082225.htm.

DHS also announced this week that people traveling in St. Croix or Rock County on Monday, August 4 should be aware that they may have been exposed to measles from an out-of-state traveler at:

• Flying J Travel Center (1191 70th Ave., Roberts) between 7:15 and 10am
• Pilot Travel Center (3001 Milwaukee Rd., Beloit) between 11:45am and 2:30pm

If you were at either location, watch for symptoms, and check your vaccine status to make sure you're up to date. Details and next steps: dhs.wisconsin.gov/news/releases/081925.htm.

Overall, the best measles protection is making sure you're up to date on your MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine. Need to get vaccinated? If you have health insurance, contact your doctor or healthcare provider. If you don’t have health insurance or if your child is on BadgerCare, call the Health Department at 715-839-4718 to make an appointment.

Increase in tickborne illness in Eau Claire County

We've seen a small increase in cases of Borrelia miyamotoi, a tickborne illness, in Eau Claire County in the past couple months.

B. miyamotoi is a bacteria spread by deer ticks, the same ticks that spread Lyme disease. It's rare in Wisconsin, but it can make people sick.

It's a relatively new disease (the first case in a Wisconsin resident was reported in 2016) and doctors and scientists are still learning about it.

So far, most people with B. miyamotoi have experienced a fever, chills, fatigue, severe headache, muscle aches, and/or joint pain. Some people have experienced serious illness that affects the brain. B. miyamotoi can be treated with antibiotics.

To reduce your risk, try to prevent tick bites. Wear insect repellent, long pants and tall socks especially in brushy or wooded areas with tall grass. Remove ticks as soon as you find them. 

A snapshot of the Health Department's communicable disease tracking dashboard shows B. miyamotoi cases reported in 2025.

Rabbit in Eau Claire tests positive for tularemia

A rabbit on the north side of the city of Eau Claire has tested positive for tularemia.

Tularemia is a potentially serious illness, but human cases in Wisconsin are very rare. The risk to the public is very low. Our state has averaged fewer than one human case per year since 1980.

Hunters, trappers, or other people who spend a lot of time outside have a higher risk of getting tularemia.

It's not unusual for a wild animal to test positive for tularemia. We do want you to be aware of what you can do to reduce risk:

• Keep your cats indoors to prevent them from hunting small mammals.
• When handling wild animals or their carcasses, use gloves.
• Don't drink untreated surface water.
• If you're bitten or scratched by an animal, wash the bite thoroughly and consult with a doctor.
• Make sure wild meats are fully cooked.

You can also watch for dead animals in your yard. If you notice a dead animal, especially multiple dead animals, around your home, you can contact the Wisconsin DNR by emailing [email protected], calling 608-267-0866, or filling out the DNR's Sick or Dead Wildlife Reporting Form (click here).

Tularemia spreads through contact with animals that have the bacteria. Wild animals—like rabbits, squirrels, muskrats, beavers, and deer—and domestic animals like dogs and cats can have tularemia. It can also be spread to humans through infected tick or deer fly bites. Tularemia cannot be spread person-to-person.

For more information, visit Tularemia (Rabbit Fever).