The United States has lost its measles elimination status after 26 years, following a determination by an expert panel of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that the virus has circulated continuously in the country for more than 12 months, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and CNN.
The US had held elimination status since 2000. A country loses the status when the same measles strain circulates without a break for 12 months or more — the test for whether the disease is endemic again.
The PAHO panel reached its decision after a three-day closed-door meeting in Washington this week, reviewing evidence submitted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The panel found that a single strain had circulated uninterrupted for over a year, with an outbreak in Utah meeting the criteria. Neither PAHO nor the US Department of Health and Human Services had officially confirmed the decision at the time of the reports.
The CDC has confirmed 5,412 measles cases in the US so far in 2026 — more than double the 2,289 recorded in all of 2025 and the highest annual total since 1991. Ten measles-associated deaths have been reported in 2026, half of them in the past two weeks, making it the worst and deadliest year for measles since 1991.
Pennsylvania has seen the largest outbreak, with more than 1,500 cases since April and a seventh measles-related death reported on 13 November. Utah’s outbreak has infected more than 700 people.
Public health experts link the resurgence largely to years of falling vaccination rates. The US can regain elimination status once it shows outbreak transmission has been interrupted for at least 12 months.
CDC Director Dr Erica Schwartz said in November that the agency would not fundamentally change its response to outbreaks even if the US lost its elimination status.
Source: CNN — https://www.cnn.com/2026/11/13/health/measles-elimination-status-vis
