U.S. measles cases pass 5,000, the worst outbreak in 35 years, with three deaths in one week

The United States has passed 5,000 confirmed measles cases in 2026, the highest annual total in 35 years, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), released on Friday. The count, updated through November 5, stands at 5,182 cases, more than double the 2,289 recorded in all of 2025.

Of the total, 5,164 cases were reported across 47 U.S. jurisdictions and 18 among international visitors, the CDC said. About 11 percent of patients, 562 people, have required hospitalization, and around 96 percent of cases involve people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown.

The week was also the deadliest of the outbreak: three people died of measles in seven days. On Thursday, Wisconsin health officials reported the death of an infant, the first measles death in that state since 1990; the county coroner listed measles as the immediate cause of death. Earlier, on Monday, a child had died in Lewis County, New York, the first death from the disease in that state in 30 years, and on Wednesday a Pennsylvania resident died, the sixth death in that state in the outbreak.

The CDC has confirmed four measles deaths in 2026, while state health departments have reported eight, a difference the agency attributes to its figures being based on federal mortality records, which lag behind state reports. Either way, it is the highest number of measles deaths in the United States since 1991.

The resurgence coincides with falling vaccination coverage: immunization with two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine among kindergartners fell from 95.2 percent in the 2019-2020 school year to 92.4 percent in 2025-2026, according to CDC data. The Pan American Health Organization will review next week whether the virus has circulated continuously for 12 months, which could cost the United States the measles-free status it has held since 2000.

Photo: AP

Source: Xinhua