The United States has recorded 5,182 confirmed measles cases so far in 2026, the highest annual total reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 1991, according to CDC data released on Friday.
The figure is more than double the 2,289 cases recorded in the whole of 2025. Almost all of the cases — 4,993 — were linked to outbreaks, and 96 percent were among people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown.
Children and teenagers account for about 59 percent of confirmed cases: 18 percent were children under five and 41 percent were aged five to 19. The CDC data also showed 562 hospitalisations linked to measles this year, about 11 percent of all reported cases, with 330 new infections recorded in the latest week.
The surge comes as routine vaccination coverage has slipped. The share of US kindergarteners vaccinated against measles fell from 95.2 percent in the 2019–2020 school year to 92.4 percent in 2025–2026.
Pennsylvania is the hardest-hit state, with 1,487 cases reported by its health department, followed by South Carolina with 670 and Utah with 536.
The death toll is disputed. The CDC records four measles deaths in 2026, while state health authorities have reported at least eight measles-related deaths, including among very young children. Pennsylvania’s health department reported six deaths. The gap is at the centre of a dispute between Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over how measles deaths are classified: Pennsylvania counts a death as measles-associated when a person with confirmed measles dies within 30 days of developing symptoms, unless the death was unrelated. The CDC initially included two Pennsylvania deaths in its national tally but later removed them after Kennedy questioned whether measles had caused or contributed to the fatalities. The CDC says it is working with the US Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists to establish a standardised definition.
Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, meaning the virus no longer spread on its own inside the country year-round. The Pan American Health Organization is due to review the US measles-elimination status next week.
Sources: Al Jazeera — https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2026/11/7/cdc-reports-more-than-5000-measles-cases-highest-number-in-35-years ; Reuters — https://www.arabnews.com/world/us-measles-cases-climb-above-5000-for-first-time-since-1991-3010223
