by The United States has recorded more measles cases in 2025 than in any year since the early 1990s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Wednesday.
Key Highlights:
- Total cases so far: 1,288
- Surpasses the 2019 count of 1,274 cases
- Marks the highest annual total in over 30 years
- Potential Loss of Measles-Free Status:
- The U.S. nearly lost its measles elimination status in 2019
- That risk has returned: if measles spreads continuously for 12 months, the country could lose that designation in 2025
- Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 by the World Health Organization
- Deaths and Hospitalizations:
- 2 children in Texas and 1 adult in New Mexico have died
- Dozens of people hospitalized
Where Outbreaks Are Happening:
- Epicenter: West Texas Mennonite community
- States with current outbreaks (3+ cases):
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Montana
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Utah
- States with ended outbreaks: 4 unnamed states
- Total outbreaks in 2025: 27 so far
Root Cause and Concerns:
- Under-vaccination in communities:
- The West Texas outbreak began in a low-vaccination Mennonite community
- Mennonite churches don’t oppose vaccines formally, but conservative groups within them often distrust government and avoid vaccination
- Vaccination Decline Since COVID-19:
- A recent study found measles vaccination rates have dropped in nearly 80% of U.S. counties post-COVID
- In Gaines County, Texas (epicenter of the current outbreak), only 82% of kindergarteners are fully vaccinated for MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
CDC Warning:
- Measles is highly contagious and entirely preventable through vaccination
- Growing vaccine hesitancy poses a serious public health threat
- The agency continues to urge all eligible individuals to stay up to date with MMR vaccinations
Health experts warn that unless immunization rates improve, the U.S. may face even more severe outbreaks and risk reversing decades of public health progress.
