Overview
- Officials tied the exposure to an unvaccinated out-of-state traveler who stayed at the Dry Ridge Holiday Inn Express Dec. 28–30 and visited the Ark Encounter on Dec. 29.
- Northern Kentucky Health Department and the state health department issued public alerts because hundreds to a couple thousand people were at the attraction that day.
- Ark Encounter says a child who visited on Dec. 29 has been diagnosed with measles and reports sending 775 notification emails to guest families while also alerting staff.
- Guidance urges those potentially exposed to check MMR vaccination status, consider avoiding high‑risk settings if not immune, and watch for fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, and rash for 21 days; people born before 1957 are generally considered immune.
- Measles is highly contagious, can linger in the air for up to two hours, and incubates typically 11–12 days and up to 21, with the alert coming during a 2025 U.S. surge of more than 2,000 cases and a local focus in Grant County.