US measles cases top 2,500 in 2026, highest in decades
CDC confirms 2,566 measles cases in the US this year, the highest annual count since 1991, with most infections in unvaccinated people.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed 2,566 measles cases so far in 2026, marking the highest annual total in more than three decades. The figure surpasses any single-year count since the major resurgence of the disease between 1989 and 1991, when over 55,000 infections and 123 deaths were recorded.
This year's outbreak has led to 169 hospitalizations, with no deaths reported so far. By comparison, 2025 saw 243 hospitalizations and three deaths. The CDC notes that 93% of this year's cases involve individuals who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown; the remaining cases had received one or two doses of the vaccine before infection.
The infections have been documented across 45 states, as well as New York City and the District of Columbia. The agency has tracked 38 new outbreaks in 2026, down from 48 in the previous year. One notable cluster in South Carolina has sickened nearly 1,000 people over six months, beginning in October 2025, making it the largest single-location outbreak since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000.
The recent surge coincides with a steady decline in childhood MMR immunization rates since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend that public health officials continue to monitor.