The highest count in more than 25 years
The CDC reported 4,080 confirmed measles cases in the United States as of Oct 8, up 193 from a week earlier. It is the highest annual total since the country declared measles eliminated in 2000. For comparison, 2,289 cases were confirmed in all of 2025.
The agency said 4,062 of the cases came from 47 jurisdictions, including 45 states, New York City and the District of Columbia. It counted 42 new outbreaks in 2026, and about 96% of confirmed cases were outbreak-associated, including 2,513 from outbreaks that began this year and 1,384 from outbreaks that started in 2025.
Who is getting sick
Most patients were children and teenagers aged 19 or younger, and about 95% of confirmed cases were in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. CDC data indicate roughly one in ten patients was hospitalised, and about one in ten children under age 5 needed hospital care.
Officials in Pennsylvania have confirmed five measles-associated deaths this year, according to state health authorities. Eighteen of the 2026 cases were in international visitors to the United States, and the CDC lists overseas travel as a main way the virus is brought back into the country.
Elimination status at risk
Measles spreads easily through the air and can cause pneumonia, brain swelling and death. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing it, and health agencies are urging families to check immunisation records before travel and before the winter respiratory season.
Elimination status is lost when the virus spreads continuously for 12 months or more. Researchers at Johns Hopkins say they expect the United States to lose the designation because of the 2025 and 2026 outbreaks, which would change how other countries treat travellers arriving from the United States.