U.S. measles cases hit 33-year high: CDC
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U.S. measles cases have hit a 33-year high, with 1,288 confirmed infections in 39 states, the Centers for Disease Control reported on Wednesday
Why it matters: The case count as of July 8 has already passed the highest annual count since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.
- While the disease isn't consistently spreading due to immunization campaigns, there have been outbreaks well beyond West Texas, where low immunization rates and high numbers of school exemptions stoked spread of the contagious virus early this year.
Driving the news: There have been 27 outbreaks reported in the U.S. so far this year, accounting for 88% percent of the cases. In comparison, there were 16 outbreaks across the entire year in 2024 and 69% of cases were associated with those outbreaks.
- There have been three confirmed deaths. 13% of the cases led to hospitalizations.
- Of the 1,288 cases, 368 (29%) were in children younger than 5 and 469 (36%) were in kids between the ages of 5 and 19 years old.
- In 92% of the confirmed measles cases, the individuals were unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown.
- 4% of the cases were in individuals who received just one dose or the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and another 4% in people who got the required two doses.
While the MMR shot is safe and effective, vaccination coverage among kindergartners has been falling and is now below the herd immunity target of 95%, per the CDC.
- "The high case count represents an alarming low in today's fight against vaccine-preventable disease," the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease said in a statement.
- "The rise in misleading claims about vaccine safety and benefits and resulting skepticism have spurred a dangerous decline in the country's immunization rate, contributing to this dangerous inflection point."
The Health and Human Services Department said in a statement that it continues to support community efforts in dealing with the outbreaks through technical assistance, lab support and vaccines as requested.
- The department noted the risk of measles infection is low for the overall U.S. population, with a case rate of less than 0.4 per 100,000 people — lower than Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy.
- CDC continues to recommend MMR vaccines as the best way to protect against measles while noting the decision to vaccinate is a personal one.
The story has been updated with HHS comment.
