Measles cases hit highest U.S. levels in 33 years
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5hon MSN
As the U.S. records its worth year for measles spread since 2019, the Illinois Department of Public Health Friday will hold an update on the status of the highly contagious virus with cases across the state.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. is currently experiencing its worst measles outbreak in more than 30 years, according to the Associated Press. On Wednesday, the CDC said the 2025 case count has surpassed the 2019 count, when there were 1,274 cases for the year.
The U.S. is having its worst year for measles spread in more than three decades, with a total of 1,288 cases nationally and another six months to go in 2025.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported 21 more measles cases from the past week, pushing the year’s total above a record set in 2019 for the most cases since the disease was eliminated in the United States in 2000.
CDC data shows 2025 is now the worst year for measles cases in this country in more than three decades. More than 150 people have been hospitalized due to the growing outbreak and three have died, including two unvaccinated children in Texas.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention count, updated Wednesday, is 14 more cases than in all of 2019, when the U.S. almost lost its status of having eliminated measles. There've been three deaths in the U.S. this year, and all were unvaccinated: two elementary school-aged children in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico.
A sizable chunk of New Mexico adults aren't included in the state Health Department's measles vaccination data.
Gaines County, where Texas' massive measles outbreak began in January, no longer has ongoing measles transmission, according to state health officials.
Measles was considered eradicated in the United States in 2000. For the first time in 25 years, cases have reached a new high.