US measles cases hit 4,588, more than twice last year’s total
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US measles cases hit 4,588, more than twice last year’s total
US measles cases hit 4,588, more than twice last year’s total
Chris Dall, MALiz Szabo, MA
17 minutes ago.
Measles
The number of confirmed US measles cases has hit 4,588, more than doubling its total from last year, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
An additional 178 measles cases were reported this week, and over the past two weeks, 508 new measles infections have been confirmed. That’s more than the nation experienced from 2022 through 2024, when a total of 465 measles cases were reported.
There have been 43 measles outbreaks across the country so far this year, with one new outbreak added since last week. An outbreak involves three or more people. Only 18 cases have been reported among international visitors.
Of the confirmed cases, 17% have been in children under the age of 5, and 42% have been in kids and adolescents ages 5 to 19. Ten percent of cases overall have required hospitalization, including 16% of the cases in children under 5.
Though the CDC has acknowledged three measles deaths this year, Pennsylvania alone has reported five, with a sixth death currently under investigation.
Most of the confirmed cases (96%) have been in people who are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status.
True number of cases likely much higher
Since the beginning of 2025, there have been 6,877 confirmed measles cases in the United States, a number that will likely lead to the nation losing its measles elimination status later this year. Measles was declared officially eliminated in the United States in 2000.But in a presentation today at IDWeek, a major infectious disease conference being held this year in Washington, DC, one infectious disease expert said he thinks the actual number of US measles cases is likely much higher than the official case count.
Andrew Pavia, MD, a pediatric infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Utah, said that because of underreporting, he believes the number of US cases since the beginning of last year is “probably greater than 20,000.”
“Measles is a serious illness. We are going to see the consequences for years to come,” Pavia said.
Pavia compared measles outbreaks to a wildfire, saying they’re easier to get under control when the numbers are small. He noted that while a small number of states—Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Utah—have experienced large, difficult-to-control outbreaks, many states have contained the virus. “So early and intense action is probably the tool we need, but we need the resources,” he said.
But he acknowledged that it’s going to be a difficult fight, with the CDC having lost 30% of its workforce and much of its independence under President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“We're up against enormous odds,” Pavia said. “Our politicians are waging warfare and lawfare against public health, against vaccines, against science, and against essentially our patients' best interests.”
Pennsylvania remains US hot spot
In an update today, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) said the state has added 78 new cases over the past seven days and now has 1,338 cases across 44 counties—nearly 30% of the nation’s total. The state reported just 16 cases last year, according to the CDC.In response, the DOH said state health center staff have administered more than 6,500 measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccinations at pop-up clinics in the affected communities since the outbreak began in late April.
“Dozens of additional vaccine clinics are scheduled for the upcoming weeks and months, based on community interest and need,” the department said in a news release.
Activity has slowed in the two other states that have experienced significant measles outbreaks this year, Utah and South Carolina. Utah hasn’t seen a measles case in three weeks, and South Carolina’s outbreak was declared over in late April.
Other states with notable measles activity include Kentucky, which added 27 cases this week and now has 197 for the year; Ohio, which added 10 cases this week and has 262 for the year; Wisconsin, with 310 confirmed cases; and New York, with 162 cases, up from 126 the previous week.