The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the number of measles cases in the United States in 2026 has exceeded the total number of cases recorded in 2025. 2026 is the year with the highest number of measles cases in the United States since 1991.

More than 700 people have been infected with measles in Utah over a period of more than one year ending in mid-2026, according to the state health department. South Carolina reported 997 measles cases in its largest outbreak in 35 years. Preliminary findings indicate the 2025 measles outbreak in Texas may have been nearly double the 762 known cases. The Gaines County, Texas health department reported 182 probable unconfirmed measles cases among minors in March 2025.

The confirmed measles case count in Gaines County, Texas, during the 2025 outbreak was 414. South Carolina reported more measles cases in 2026 than any other state. A measles outbreak in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, began in October 2025 and ended in April 2026. The measles outbreak in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, involved nearly 1,000 cases.

Varun Shetty, state epidemiologist of Texas, said that what is counted and reported is almost always an underestimate of what really happened, because it depends on people being willing to get tested and share information with health providers and public health. He added that sometimes that just doesn't happen.

Brannon Traxler, interim director of the South Carolina Department of Health, said the underestimation is impossible to know and can vary throughout an outbreak. He stated that if there were a solid benchmark on the percentage of all cases that require hospitalization or some measure of severity, that could be another way to estimate the size of the outbreak and see if it is consistent with other methods.

Mark Roberts, former director of the Public Health Dynamics Lab at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, compared not vaccinating a child to not wanting a car to have brakes, explaining that one can crash into other people and that individuals are not alone in their actions.

Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said this is essentially a public health failure and it is preventable. Scott Neely, reverend, said there were nerves, anxiety, and some disagreement, but the final story was that vaccines work and the spirit of cooperation takes us a long way. He added that it made people pay attention immediately that measles is in their community, around them, and its impact is uncertain.

The national vaccination rate for measles, mumps, and rubella among kindergarten children in the United States was 95.2% in the 2019-2020 school year. International health authorities will meet in November 2026 to determine if the United States and Mexico have lost their measles-free status.

The United States eliminated local measles transmission in 2000.

As of mid-2026, the CDC had recorded over 1,200 confirmed measles cases nationwide, surpassing the 2025 total of approximately 1,050. The rise in cases has been attributed to declining vaccination rates in certain communities and increased international travel from regions with ongoing outbreaks. Measles is highly contagious, with each infected person potentially spreading the virus to 12 to 18 others in an unvaccinated population.

Public health officials in multiple states have declared emergencies to mobilize resources and expand vaccination campaigns. In South Carolina, mobile clinics were deployed to underserved areas during the Spartanburg outbreak. Utah launched a public awareness initiative targeting misinformation about vaccines, particularly on social media platforms.

The World Health Organization previously listed vaccine hesitancy as a top global health threat. U.S. health agencies have emphasized that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and effective, with two doses providing about 97% protection against measles.

Health experts warn that if current trends continue, additional states could face large-scale outbreaks in 2027. Reestablishing and maintaining herd immunity requires a vaccination rate of at least 95% in the population.