Public Health — News & Analysis

Measles reaches 34-year high in 2025: 2,288 cases, 3 deaths, 48 outbreaks (January 7, 2026)

January 7, 2026 — The CDC's final tally for 2025 recorded 2,288 confirmed measles cases in 45 jurisdictions — the highest annual total in the United States since 1991 and nearly eight times the 285 cases recorded in 2024. There were 48 outbreaks, compared to 16 the prior year; three people died, including two children — the first measles child deaths in the U.S. in over 20 years. Approximately 69 percent of cases were in children and teens, and 12 percent of all patients required hospitalization.

96 percent of cases involved people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. Experts noted the figures were likely a significant undercount, as many cases go unreported. The first major outbreak began January 20 in Gaines County, West Texas, spreading rapidly through undervaccinated Mennonite and other communities. By summer it had spread to dozens of states. The West Texas outbreak ended in August, but outbreaks in South Carolina, Arizona, and Utah continued to surge through the fall and into 2026.

Public health researchers noted the outbreak unfolded against the backdrop of five consecutive years of declining kindergarten vaccination rates and record-high vaccine exemptions, trends that predated but were accelerated by the arrival of an HHS secretary with a 20-year record of anti-vaccine advocacy. The New England Journal of Medicine published a major review of the outbreak, and international health authorities including Mexico issued travel warnings for the United States over measles risk.