U.S. measles cases hit 35-year record with months left in 2026
A large South Carolina outbreak and lower vaccination rates have driven infections, with most cases in unvaccinated people, experts said.
- On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,318 measles cases nationwide, marking the worst outbreak in 35 years and surpassing 2025's total of 2,289 cases.
- Declining vaccination rates and growing distrust in health authorities fuel the surge, with critics blaming US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for spreading anti-vaccine sentiment.
- USF Health virologist Dr. Michael Teng noted an infected person can transmit measles to between 12 and 18 people, while pediatric infectious diseases physician Dr. Evan Shirey said vaccination prevents children from hospitalization with severe complications.
- Florida ranks fifth nationally with 141 cases, where officials allow religious and philosophical vaccine exemptions; Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said Friday people should make personal medical decisions without coercion.
- Public health experts warn nationwide vaccination rates have fallen below the 95% threshold required to prevent community spread, and with the outbreak uncontained, officials expect case numbers to continue rising.
325 Articles
325 Articles
The number of measles cases recorded in the United States in 2026 has already exceeded the total in 2025, recently announced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This is already a sad record for the country since 1991. To see more clearly the resurgence of this disease, considered to have been eradicated since the beginning of the millennium overseas, TF1info spoke with physician and microbiologist Philippe Sansonetti. - "A back…
Measles Resurgence Sparks Biotech Push for Treatments Long Overlooked
Measles cases in the United States have climbed to levels not seen in 35 years. By mid-July 2026, confirmed infections topped 2,300. That already exceeds the full-year total from 2025. Outbreaks rage in states from South Carolina to Utah. Hospitals report children with pneumonia and brain swelling. Yet for decades, the disease drew scant interest from drug developers. Vaccines work. They deliver strong protection. But vaccination rates have slip…
Health experts: State’s high vaccination rate is keeping spread of measles in check
Just seven months into the year, confirmed measles cases in Maryland are already four times higher that they were for all of last year, but health officials say the situation could be much worse. Almost all of the 12 cases recorded so far this year — up from three for all of 2025 — were […]
US measles cases surge to 35-year high
US measles cases hit a 35-year high as vaccination rates fall. Though still far short of 1990s levels, before widespread vaccination drove a sharp drop in measles cases, the 2,295 recorded this year are more than all of 2025. And 93% of this year’s patients are unvaccinated. Measles is usually the first disease to rise when vaccine levels dip, because it is extremely contagious. US vaccine uptake has declined for years, and most counties are bel…
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