US Measles Outbreak Worsens as Cases Top 3,600 in 2026

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 3,659 confirmed measles cases across the United States as of September 24, 2026, making this year the worst for the disease since it was declared eliminated in the country in 2000, according to CDC data.²

National case count climbs

Of the 3,659 cases reported by the CDC, 3,642 were recorded across 47 jurisdictions and 17 involved international visitors. The agency noted that 2026 has brought 40 fresh outbreaks and that nearly all confirmed infections—3,478 out of the 3,659 total, roughly 95%—can be traced to an outbreak.²

A CIDRAP report dated September 21 put the national total at 3,471 after 177 new cases were added in a single update, describing it as the sixth straight week of triple-digit case increases. The CDC at that point had noted 39 outbreaks, one more than the previous week, and said all but 17 of the year's cases were locally acquired, with the remainder tied to international travel. CIDRAP noted that infections have turned up in 45 states along with New York City and Washington, DC, and that minors account for the bulk of cases—18% in children under five and 62% among children and teens combined.¹

Comparison with previous years

For all of 2025, the CDC reported 2,289 confirmed measles cases in the United States, a total that CIDRAP said was the highest since 1991 until it was surpassed in July 2026. CIDRAP noted that, with over three months still left in 2026, the year's case count already exceeds last year's by 52%, and stands 58 times above the mere 59 cases logged in 2023. The CDC said 285 cases were reported in 2024 and 1,274 in 2019.¹²

Nine percent of 2026 patients have been hospitalized, according to CIDRAP, up from 8% the previous week and compared with 11% in 2025.¹

Pennsylvania deaths dispute

Pennsylvania has recorded the largest state outbreak. CIDRAP reported that the state's Department of Health added 36 new infections in two days and 93 in the past week, bringing its 2026 total to 767, with Lancaster County accounting for 324 cases, followed by Mifflin with 93, Chester with 72 and Snyder with 35. A Reuters report the same day put Pennsylvania's outbreak at 792 cases with 155 hospitalizations.¹³

CIDRAP reported that federal health officials have yet to formally recognize four measles-linked fatalities that Pennsylvania's health department announced, involving two infants and two adults. Per the CDC, official verification of measles fatalities requires sign-off from the National Center for Health Statistics. Reuters reported a political dispute between Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and federal officials over the deaths. Last year, the CDC confirmed three measles deaths, including two children, according to CIDRAP.¹³

Other states

CIDRAP reported that Ohio confirmed 47 new cases, bringing its total to 180, while Wisconsin's health department confirmed four new cases for a yearly total of 167, including three tied to an outbreak in the southwest of the state; the department said, "The ongoing investigation indicates that measles is spreading locally." Utah has gone several weeks without a confirmed case, according to its state health department, as cited by CIDRAP. South Carolina's outbreak, listed by the CDC at 670 infections for the year, totaled 997 cases across 2025 and 2026 and was declared over on April 27, according to CIDRAP.¹

According to NBC News, someone carrying measles moved through Philadelphia International Airport on September 13, leading local health authorities to issue a public exposure alert.⁴

Vaccination coverage and history

The CDC said MMR vaccination coverage among U.S. kindergarteners dropped from a rate of 95.2% during the 2019-2020 academic year down to 92.4% by 2025-2026, a slide that leaves roughly 280,000 kindergartners unprotected this school year. The agency reported that a full two-shot MMR regimen blocks measles infection 97% of the time, though roughly one in ten cases still occurs in people who had already been vaccinated. According to the CDC, in the era before vaccination roughly 48,000 Americans required hospitalization each year for measles and between 400 and 500 died annually; the virus travels through airborne droplets from coughing or sneezing and can linger to infect someone who enters a space after an infected person has left.²

International comparisons and reactions

CIDRAP pointed to FactCheck.org figures showing that, through September 14, 2026, the U.S. measles rate of 13.2 cases per million placed it 65th out of 169 countries tracked—a ranking FactCheck.org characterized as putting America among "the worst 38% of nations, and about as good as Russia." The same report noted the U.S. ranked 86th out of 184 countries for per-capita measles incidence in the prior year.¹

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remarked, "We're doing a better job than any country in the world at controlling the measles outbreak. This is a worldwide epidemic." KFF's Josh Michaud pushed back on this assertion, stating, "I don't think that there's any evidence that that is the case," and observing that "there are countries that are sort of peer countries ... which have very, very little, basically no outbreaks of measles." Brown University Pandemic Center's Jennifer Nuzzo offered a different frame, urging, "Let's compare ourselves to ourselves," and adding that "we are currently in the worst bout of measles that the United States has seen in more than 30 years."¹