Cases reach 5,182, the highest annual total since 1991, with at least 562 hospitalizations and eight deaths
The CDC reported 5,182 measles cases in 2026 as of November 6, the highest annual total since 1991 and more than double all of 2025, with at least 562 hospitalizations. Children and teenagers make up almost 60 percent of confirmed cases, and 812 cases were in children under 5 as of October 29.
Pennsylvania reported 1,467 cases and 283 hospitalizations as of November 4 and confirmed a sixth death. PAHO's expert commission has not announced whether the U.S. still meets measles elimination criteria, which it has held since 2000.
Why it matters
Measles, eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, is spreading again as vaccination rates fall. At least eight people have died this year.
Guess first
Confirmed measles cases in the US each year since 2000, when the country declared measles eliminated. The line stops at 2025: drag the dot to guess 2026 so far.
2026 (to Nov 5): 5182. 5,182 cases by November 5: more than all 25 years from 2000 to 2024 put together (4,485), and more than double 2025. It is still far below 1990, when the US counted 27,808.
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 85 |
| 2014 | 667 |
| 2015 | 191 |
| 2016 | 86 |
| 2017 | 120 |
| 2018 | 381 |
| 2019 | 1274 |
| 2020 | 13 |
| 2021 | 49 |
| 2022 | 121 |
| 2023 | 59 |
| 2024 | 285 |
| 2025 | 2289 |
| 2026 | 5182 |
As of 2026-11-07. CDC yearly confirmed measles case counts, 2000 to 2026, from the data behind the CDC's Measles Cases and Outbreaks page (last updated November 5, 2026). 2026 is a partial year, cases reported as of November 5. The sum of 2000-2024 (4,485) is our addition. Sources: CDC, Measles Cases and Outbreaks, CDC, yearly measles cases data file (MeaslesCasesHistory.json), CDC, History of Measles.
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Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.
Fictional AI pastiche — not real quote.
"I see we've finally achieved what centuries of plague and pestilence could not: we've made stupidity contagious."
Fictional AI pastiche — not real quote.
"I built an empire by understanding that prevention is far cheaper than cure—a lesson I applied to scalp disease that these modern leaders seem to have forgotten about measles. When I traveled town to town, I saw how easily disease spread among our people, yet I also witnessed the power of education and collective action to stop it; today's failure isn't one of science, but of will. There is no profit in allowing our children to suffer what we already learned to prevent."
PAHO is the WHO regional office for the Americas, responsible for verifying and monitoring measles elimination status in the Western Hemisphere.
The CDC is the U.S. federal agency responsible for disease surveillance, outbreak response, and vaccination policy.
DSHS managed the response to the West Texas measles outbreak that became the epicenter of the national crisis.
Pennsylvania's outbreak, centered in Lancaster County, is the nation's largest of 2026.
March 2000 November 2026
The CDC reported 5,182 cases in 2026, the highest annual total since 1991, with at least 562 hospitalizations. State health agencies report at least eight measles-related deaths.
The state reported 1,467 confirmed cases and 283 hospitalizations as of November 4 and confirmed a sixth measles-linked death. New York had reported its first measles-associated child death in more than 30 years days earlier.
Genomic sequencing published in NEJM Evidence traced 26 measles cases in Washington State to five separate introductions from South Carolina's outbreak. All 26 were in unvaccinated people or those with unknown status.
CDC reported 4,852 confirmed cases as of October 29, up 264 (5.8%) in a week and more than double 2025's 2,289. Hospitalizations reached 511, and 812 cases were in children under 5; Pennsylvania reported 1,426 cases and 268 hospitalizations as of October 30.
CDC reported 4,588 confirmed cases as of October 22, up 178 in a week and more than double 2025's total of 2,289; 479 people have been hospitalized. Pennsylvania reported 1,338 cases in 44 counties, 255 hospitalizations and five confirmed deaths, and said its nurses have given more than 10,300 MMR doses this year.
At the IDWeek conference in Washington, University of Utah epidemiologist Andrew Pavia said underreporting means the real number of U.S. infections since early 2025 is 'probably greater than 20,000,' against 6,877 confirmed.
Daniel Salas, who runs PAHO's immunization program, told Al Jazeera that Mexico and Bolivia 'could potentially lose status as well.' Canada lost its status in 2025 after an outbreak that began in 2024.
The West Coast Health Alliance (California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii) told CDC Director Erica Schwartz in a letter that the agency took two months to answer a May request to validate a test able to diagnose 500 cases in eight hours. The CDC cited 'other competing priorities.'
The CDC added a third measles death to its dashboard but would not say whether it occurred in Pennsylvania, citing privacy laws. Pennsylvania has reported five deaths and is investigating a sixth.
The state health department told clinicians to treat every baby born to a mother infected during pregnancy as exposed, whatever the stage of pregnancy, and to watch for complications that can appear years later. Officials said 66 pregnant women have been diagnosed since April and that congenital measles had been identified for the first time in decades.
CDC reported 4,410 confirmed cases as of October 15 across 47 jurisdictions, up 330 (8.1%) from the prior week. 451 people (10%) have been hospitalized; 96% of cases are outbreak-associated.
Pennsylvania reported 1,004 measles cases and five deaths as of October 5. Lancaster County was hardest hit with 391 cases; 198 people were hospitalized. All five deaths were unvaccinated.
CDC sent an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer to Pennsylvania and released nearly $4 million for the measles response, the agency's first in-person assistance to the state.
Pennsylvania health care professionals administered about 49,000 MMR doses in August and 53,000 in September, double the usual 25,000 per month.
Two unvaccinated people in Lancaster County died of measles complications, the state's first measles deaths since 1991. Several more deaths followed as cases passed 1,000.
PAHO's Regional Monitoring Commission was scheduled to review whether the U.S. and Mexico still met measles elimination criteria. No outcome has been reported in sources reviewed as of mid-October.
The Pennsylvania outbreak began in late April 2026, with cases spiking in August and September and centered in Lancaster County.
South Carolina DPH reported 950 measles cases in its outbreak—246 under age 5, 611 ages 6-17—with 94% unvaccinated or unknown status. The state surge accounts for most of the national total.
CDC reported 910 confirmed measles cases across 24 jurisdictions year-to-date, up 177 from prior week (24% increase); 90% outbreak-associated with 5 new outbreaks.
South Carolina DPH reported 933 cases (859 unvaccinated); January vaccinations rose 72% year-over-year with 16,800+ doses administered.
PAHO epidemiological alert noted 1,031 cases in first 3 weeks of 2026 across 7 countries (43-fold increase vs 2025), urging vaccination and surveillance; U.S. had 910 cases in 24 states.
South Carolina DPH reported 789 cases, surpassing Texas's 762-case outbreak to become the largest U.S. measles outbreak since elimination was achieved in 2000. The state added more than 600 cases in January 2026 alone, with cases linked to California, North Carolina, and Washington.
South Carolina State Senator Josh Kimbrell, representing Spartanburg County, sent a letter to local school leaders calling the measles outbreak a 'public health crisis' and advocating for remote learning options for unvaccinated students to protect others. More than 700 of the 789 cases were in unvaccinated individuals or those who had not received both recommended MMR doses.
South Carolina DPH reported 700 total cases in the Spartanburg County outbreak, adding 54 cases in three days. The state accounts for 81% of 2026 U.S. cases, with 485 people in quarantine and new exposures identified at five elementary schools.
The U.S. passed one year and two days since continuous measles transmission began, triggering the formal process for potential loss of elimination status. CDC's principal deputy director called potential loss 'the cost of doing business.'
CDC confirmed 416 measles cases nationwide in 2026—an increase of 245 infections in one week, averaging 19 cases per day. Cases reported across 14 jurisdictions including South Carolina, North Carolina, California, and Washington.
PAHO announced an April 13, 2026 meeting to review the measles elimination status of the United States and Mexico.
Following a presidential memorandum, CDC reduced recommended childhood vaccines from 18 to 11 diseases. MMR remained on the core schedule.
Ralph Abraham, Louisiana's surgeon general who had ordered his state to stop vaccine promotion campaigns, was sworn in as CDC's principal deputy director.
PAHO announced the Americas had lost regional measles elimination status after Canada exceeded 12 months of continuous transmission. The region had first achieved this status in 2016.
South Carolina DPH confirmed a new measles outbreak in the Upstate region around Spartanburg County.
Texas DSHS declared the West Texas outbreak over after 762 confirmed cases. The source of the initial infection was never identified.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated the MMR vaccine is 'the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles,' drawing criticism from anti-vaccine supporters.
An unvaccinated eight-year-old girl died of measles pulmonary failure in Lubbock, Texas. Neither child had underlying health conditions.
An unvaccinated adult in Lea County, New Mexico died after contracting measles.
An unvaccinated six-year-old girl died of measles-related pneumonia in Lubbock, Texas—the first U.S. measles death since 2015.
Texas DSHS officially declared a measles outbreak in Gaines County after identifying six cases in unvaccinated school-aged children.
A child in Gaines County, Texas developed the telltale measles rash, marking what PAHO would later designate as the start of continuous U.S. transmission.
PAHO declared the Americas the first WHO region to eliminate endemic measles transmission.
CDC convened an expert panel that concluded measles elimination criteria had been met. The U.S. became the first country in the Western Hemisphere to achieve this status.
Discussed by: Dr. Andrew Pavia (CDC consultant), PAHO officials, multiple epidemiologists
PAHO's April 13 meeting concludes the U.S. had continuous transmission for 12+ months and revokes elimination status. CDC consultant Andrew Pavia said 'the case for this not being continuous transmission is tenuous' and expects this outcome. The U.S. would join Venezuela and Brazil as countries that lost and must regain elimination status—a process that took Brazil five years.
Discussed by: CDC officials
CDC analysis determines the various outbreaks represent separate introductions rather than a single continuous transmission chain. PAHO accepts this interpretation and maintains U.S. elimination status. This outcome would require demonstrating that the West Texas, South Carolina, and other outbreaks had distinct viral lineages and no epidemiological links.
Discussed by: PAHO, public health policy analysts
The U.S. loses status but mounts a coordinated federal-state vaccination campaign similar to responses in Brazil and Venezuela. South Carolina outbreak contained by spring 2026, and with 12 months of no endemic transmission plus surveillance, the U.S. is reverified by 2028-2029. This mirrors Brazil's five-year path from loss to reinstatement.
Discussed by: Dr. Peter Hotez, Dr. Paul Offit, public health researchers
Declining vaccination rates and weakened public health infrastructure prevent the U.S. from regaining elimination status. Measles becomes endemic again as it was before 2000, with thousands of annual cases. Dr. Hotez has warned that the 'ecosystem' that eliminated measles has fundamentally changed, and this trajectory requires sustained vaccination above 95%—a threshold the country has not met since 2019.
Discussed by: CDC, Pennsylvania Department of Health
The vaccination surge in Pennsylvania (about 53,000 MMR doses in September, double the monthly norm) and CDC's Epi-Aid deployment slow transmission in Lancaster and Mifflin counties. If case counts decline through winter, the outbreak could be declared over by spring 2027, mirroring Texas's 2025 timeline.
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
After a decade of relatively few cases, measles resurged dramatically. Over 55,000 people fell ill and 123 died—most of them preschool children in inner-city areas. New York City alone recorded 5,000 cases and 21 deaths. Budget cuts to federal vaccination programs during the Reagan administration had allowed immunization rates to drop.
CDC changed its recommendation to require a second MMR dose before school entry. President Clinton pledged to raise childhood immunization rates.
Congress created the Vaccines for Children program in 1993, and federal funding increased from $37 million in 1990 to $261 million by 1995. Measles was declared eliminated in 2000.
The 1989-1991 outbreak showed how quickly measles returns when vaccination infrastructure erodes. The U.S. recorded 2,289 cases in 2025 and 4,588 in 2026 through October 22, its highest counts since that era.
An unvaccinated child visited Disneyland in Anaheim during the Christmas holiday. The outbreak spread to 131 Californians and 159 people in Quebec, Canada. Genetic sequencing linked the virus to a strain circulating in the Philippines. Twenty percent of U.S. cases required hospitalization.
California passed Senate Bill 277, eliminating personal belief exemptions for school vaccinations. Media coverage focused on the consequences of vaccine refusal.
The 'Disneyland effect' temporarily increased vaccination rates in some communities. However, exemption rates nationally have since climbed from 1.9% in 2020-2021 to 3.1% in 2023-2024.
The Disneyland outbreak showed how a single infected visitor could spark multi-state transmission in under-vaccinated communities. The current South Carolina outbreak—spreading to North Carolina and Washington state via holiday travel—follows a similar pattern at larger scale.
Venezuela lost elimination status in July 2018 after an outbreak spread from the country's collapsing healthcare system. Brazil followed in February 2019 after recording 20,901 cases, including 17,816 in São Paulo state. Both countries had achieved elimination in 2016 as part of PAHO's regional declaration.
PAHO provided technical assistance and intensified vaccination campaigns in affected areas.
Venezuela regained elimination status in 2023 after four years. Brazil took five years, regaining status in 2024. The region briefly recovered elimination before Canada's outbreak in 2024-2025.
These precedents show elimination status is recoverable but requires sustained effort over multiple years. Brazil's five-year timeline from loss to reinstatement offers a realistic benchmark for U.S. recovery if status is revoked in April.