( CNN ) Three more babies who attended a Chicago-area day care center are confirmed to have the measles , bringing the number of infant measles patients linked to the business to five , the Cook County Department of Public Health said Saturday . Health officials had said earlier in the week that two children under age 1 who attended the KinderCare Learning Center in Palatine , Illinois , tested positive for the measles , and tests for the three others had been pending . Officials are n't sure whether the cases are linked to a multistate outbreak associated with Disneyland in California , the department said . At least two of the children were not vaccinated against measles , though that was to be expected given their ages , the department said . The MMR ( measles , mumps , rubella ) vaccine generally is not given to children under the age of 1 . Parents messages to anti-vaxxers . One other measles case has been reported in suburban Cook County ; it is n't clear if that case is connected to the Palatine cases . Since January 1 , at least 110 confirmed measles cases have been reported in 16 states and the District of Columbia , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and health departments in four of those states . That 's a notable number for the nation in five weeks , given that the country 's number of 2014 cases -- 644 -- was the highest in one year since 2000 , when measles was declared to be effectively eliminated in the United States . California has reported 103 cases since mid-December -- dozens of which are not counted in the nationwide 2015 total since they were confirmed before New Year 's Day . Many of the California cases , 32 , are in Orange County , home to Disneyland , where an outbreak of the disease began . The first measles case in New Jersey this year has been confirmed in a 1-year-old baby , the state 's department of health said . No link has been found to the ongoing measles outbreak in California . The infant , who had not yet been vaccinated , has recovered . People who have not had the MMR ( measles , mumps , rubella ) vaccine were told this week to stay away from the Palatine day care center and from others who have not been vaccinated for 21 days . Infected people are contagious from four days before their rash begins through four days afterward . The day care center said that starting Monday , it will require all employees working in its infant rooms to be vaccinated against the measles -- an effort to prevent exposure to children who are too young to receive the vaccine . The center also said that received a deep cleaning after the first cases were reported . Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease . It causes fever , red and sore eyes , runny nose , cough and a rash . It can cause deadly health complications including pneumonia and encephalitis . Measles is spread by contact with an infected person through coughing or sneezing . It can remain in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours .
It 's not clear if these cases are linked to Disneyland outbreak . Comment: Since January 1 , at least 110 measles cases reported in 16 states and D.C .