US measles cases reach 35-year high

The number of measles cases in the U.S. this year has surpassed last year’s annual total, hitting the highest number of cases recorded in more than three decades, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Per Johns Hopkins University’s measles tracker, there have been 2,295 recorded measles cases this year, just surpassing 2025’s total of 2,289.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not updated its measles figures since July 17, so the agency’s tally does not currently reflect this milestone.

At roughly 2,300 cases, this record is the highest number of measles infections the country has seen since 1990, when 27,808 cases were recorded. Cases dramatically fell after that year in response to an aggressive vaccination campaign and the rollout of the two-dose measles vaccine schedule the year before.

The U.S. officially eliminated measles in 2000, but this distinction is now under question as measles transmission has persisted for more than one year, the criteria for losing elimination status.

Canada lost its elimination status last year. The U.S. and Mexico are scheduled to meet with the Pan American Health Organization in November to review their respective elimination statuses.

After achieving elimination status, the U.S. had typically seen a few dozen to a few hundred measles cases a year, with 2019 being an outlier with roughly 1,300 reported cases.

With more than five more months left in the year, the U.S. is all but certain to far exceed last year’s numbers — an outcome infectious disease specialists warned was likely last year as outbreaks spread across the country.

As of the most recent update from the CDC, 34 new measles outbreaks have been declared this year, with 44 jurisdictions reporting cases.

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