US hits most cases of 'world's most contagious disease' in 35 years — and it's only July

Less than seven months into 2026, the United States has already reached a 35-year high for annual measles cases.

As of Tuesday, there are 2,295 confirmed cases across the country, according to Johns Hopkins University’s US measles tracker — which has published the more up-to-date data than the CDC.

That surpasses 2025’s record-breaking total of 2,289 for the entire year — a number that had been startling because it was the highest since a 1991 outbreak that infected 9,500.

“The fact that we’ve reached this total this early in the year is really a reflection of those large outbreaks earlier in the year, particularly in South Carolina and Utah,” William Moss, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told the Washington Post.

South Carolina’s outbreak sickened nearly 1,000 people by the end of April, costing the state $2.1 million.

“It’s very frustrating. This is a reflection that we have been unable to stop measles virus transmission in this country,” Moss added.

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Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000 following widespread adoption of the vaccine. Cases dropped from roughly 3 to 4 million a year to only about 180 a year.

But dropping vaccine rates have led to a steady increase of infections, with one doctor warning that the trend is allowing the disease to spread within the US — independent of travelers bringing it from other countries.

“This is a major public health warning sign,” epidemiologist Dr. Syra Madad told The Post.

More and more cases and scares are making the news. In June, someone with measles exposed scores of travelers at LAX. In May, New York city officials alerted diners at an Italian restaurant they might’ve been exposed over the course of three hours.

Madad warned that without major changes, 2026 case numbers could pass 2025’s “substantially” by the end of the year.

“We should be cautious about making exact projections because outbreaks can slow when vaccination campaigns, isolation, contact tracing and community engagement are effective. But the current pattern is deeply concerning,” she said.

“Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but elimination is not a permanent trophy. It has to be protected through consistently high vaccination coverage, fast outbreak detection, and strong local public health response.”

Those infected may experience a high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. White spots may appear in the mouth to to three days later, and a rash can pop up three to five days later. But doctors stress that measles isn’t a run-of-the-mill infection.

“This is not simply the return of a childhood rash illness,” Madad said. “Measles can cause pneumonia, encephalitis, hospitalization and death, especially in young children and medically vulnerable people.”

The disease can also introduce subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a deadly neurological condition that can strike decades after the initial infection.

“The measles is sort of sitting around in your brain and causing, on the cellular level, changes that sit there quietly. And 10, 20-plus years later, they come and destroy your brain,” Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, previously told The Post.

In one case, a seven-year-old boy died of SSPE — years after getting measles at just seven months old and seemingly recovering.

Again and again, doctors and public health officials — including Dr. Oz and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — urge vaccination.

“Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” Kennedy wrote in a Fox News Digital op-ed last year.

Madad stressed that if vaccination gaps remain, things stand to get much worse.

“Measles will continue to find susceptible communities next year and beyond,” she said. “That means more outbreaks, more quarantines, more school and childcare disruptions, more strain on already stretched health departments, and a continued risk of severe illness and death from a disease we know how to prevent.

However, she added, the problem is “recoverable.”

“The US achieved elimination before, and it can regain control by restoring high MMR coverage, strengthening surveillance, and responding rapidly to every case,” Madad said.