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US Measles Cases Pass 5,182 in Worst Surge Since 1991Health
The CDC has confirmed 5,182 measles cases in the US in 2026, the highest since 1991, as falling vaccination rates fuel outbreaks across 47 jurisdictions.
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Measles cases in the United States have passed 5,000 this year, reaching the highest annual total in 35 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency confirmed 5,182 cases as of 5 November 2026, more than double the 2,289 recorded across the whole of 2025, and the most since 1991, when 9,643 cases were reported.
The cases have been reported across 47 jurisdictions, including 45 states, Washington DC and New York City, with a further 18 cases among international visitors. The CDC has recorded 43 new outbreaks this year, and 96 percent of confirmed cases are linked to outbreaks that began in 2025 or 2026. About 11 percent of patients, 562 people, have needed hospital treatment.
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Health officials link the surge to falling vaccination rates. According to federal data, 96 percent of confirmed cases have been in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. MMR vaccination among US kindergarteners has fallen from 95.2 percent in the 2019-20 school year to 92.4 percent in 2025-26, leaving more than 280,000 children at risk, the CDC says. Coverage above 95 percent is needed for community protection, often called herd immunity.
The death toll is disputed. The CDC lists four measles-related deaths in 2026, while state health departments have reported eight, six in Pennsylvania, one in New York and one in Wisconsin, according to ABC News. Pennsylvania has reported the country’s largest outbreak, with more than 1,400 cases.
Hospitals on alert as Indiana cases climb
In Indiana, confirmed cases have risen from 29 on 8 October to 153 by 10 November, an increase of more than 400 percent in a month, according to the Indiana Department of Health. Cases have been found in more than 20 counties, with the highest numbers in LaGrange, Adams and Wayne counties. In LaGrange County, where cases are highest, the MMR vaccination rate among kindergarteners stands at just 74 percent.
Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis has begun screening all visitors for measles, the first time it has done so for the disease. The hospital cares for some of the state’s most vulnerable children, including babies too young for the MMR vaccine and children with weakened immune systems. The virus can linger in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves a room, the hospital’s infection prevention chief said.
Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, meaning the virus was no longer spreading within the country. That status is now under review: a Pan American Health Organization expert commission is meeting from 10 to 13 November to assess whether the virus has circulated continuously in the US for more than 12 months.
Health officials say the MMR vaccine remains the best protection. Two doses are about 97 percent effective at preventing measles, and one dose about 93 percent effective, according to the CDC. Early symptoms include high fever, cough, a runny nose, red and watery eyes, and a red, blotchy rash that usually starts on the face before spreading.
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