Measles outbreak linked to Urkult festival ends

A measles outbreak linked to the Urkult festival in Västernorrland is over, with 40 cases confirmed, SVT reported. The Public Health Agency of Sweden announced the outbreak’s end on Wednesday.

Twenty-eight of the 40 cases confirmed during the summer of 2026 were linked to the festival. Most of those infected were school-age children who had not been vaccinated against measles.

“The regions and infection control authorities have done a great deal of work on contact tracing and vaccination. Their efforts have helped stop the outbreak and give more people protection against measles,” state epidemiologist Anders Johansson said in a statement.

High vaccination coverage in Sweden helped prevent the virus from spreading to more people who were not at the festival. No new cases have been reported since the beginning of September.