US Measles Cases Pass 5,000 for First Time Since 1991 as Elimination Status Faces Review
The CDC has confirmed 5,182 measles cases in the US this year, the highest since 1991, as a review next week could end the elimination status held since 2000.
Measles cases in the United States have passed 5,000 in a single year for the first time since 1991, according to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), putting at risk the elimination status the country has held since 2000. Source: CDC
The CDC counted 5,182 confirmed cases as of 5 November, including 330 new infections in the latest week alone. Cases have been recorded in 45 states and Washington, D.C., and 43 outbreaks have been reported in 2026, with 96 per cent of confirmed cases linked to outbreaks. Source: CDC
The total is already more than double the 2,289 cases recorded in all of 2025, and the highest annual count in 35 years. The CDC's confirmed death count stands at four, while state health authorities have reported at least eight deaths linked to the disease, including a Wisconsin infant, a Pennsylvania resident and a child in Lewis County, New York. Source: CDC; Source: Zark News
Almost all of the cases are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the CDC's data, and 96 per cent of confirmed cases are outbreak-associated. Only five states — Arkansas, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada and New Hampshire — have reported no cases in 2026. Source: CDC; Source: News One USA
The milestone matters because it threatens a public health achievement that has stood for more than a quarter of a century. Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, meaning the virus no longer spread continuously within the country. That status depends on there being no continuous transmission for 12 months or more, backed by a strong disease tracking system. Source: Times Now
The Pan American Health Organization is scheduled to review US transmission data on 10 November. If it finds that one strain of the virus has circulated without a break for 12 months, the United States will lose the status. The wider Americas region already lost its measles elimination status in November 2025, after Canada recorded continuous transmission for at least 12 months. Source: Moneycontrol; Source: Times Now
The last comparable resurgence, from 1989 to 1991, produced about 55,000 infections and 123 deaths in the United States. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known, spreading through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97 per cent effective at preventing it, according to the CDC. Source: News One USA; Source: CDC
The review on 10 November is the immediate test of whether the country keeps its elimination status, and the CDC will publish its next weekly measles update on Friday. Health officials will be watching whether the weekly increase stays above 300 cases. For now, the figures show a disease the United States declared beaten a generation ago spreading again at a pace not seen in 35 years. Source: US News Pulse
This article was researched and drafted with AI assistance and verified against multiple independent sources.