Iowa adds Ottumwa Pizza Ranch to measles exposure list as cases double

In the long human struggle against preventable disease, Iowa finds itself at a familiar crossroads: a virus once thought vanquished is finding new footholds among the unvaccinated. Fifteen confirmed measles cases in 2026 — nearly double last year's count — have spread across eight businesses in Ottumwa, the Des Moines metro, and Bloomfield, with a southern Iowa Pizza Ranch now added to the list of exposure sites. The outbreak is not yet large, but its trajectory carries the quiet weight of a warning: when collective immunity erodes, even the most controllable of diseases will find its way back