U.S. Tops 1,100 Measles Cases This Year as Outbreaks Grow

MONDAY, March, 2, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Measles cases are climbing rapidly across the United States, with more than 1,100 infections reported in the first two months of this year, data shows.

As of Feb. 26, 1,136 cases had been confirmed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That total is already far higher than usual numbers for an entire year.

And health experts say the pace of spread is alarming.

The current U.S. trajectory for measles cases is “disappointing and depressing and ominous,” Dr. William Schaffner told CNN. He’s an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Measles is one of the world’s most contagious viruses. It spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. While many people recover, the illness can cause severe complications.

The CDC notes that 1 in every 1,000 children who gets measles may develop encephalitis, a dangerous swelling of the brain. Up to 3 of every 1,000 infected children will die.

“Measles is a fierce infection, and we should be preventing it,” Schaffner said. “It can strike any healthy, normal child in its most severe fashion.”

Nearly all of the reported cases this year (about 96%) have occurred in people who were not vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine or who did not receive both recommended doses.

More than 80% of cases involve kids and teens and about one-quarter are in children younger than 5.

Last year, the United States recorded nearly 2,300 measles cases, the most since 1991. Two unvaccinated kids in Texas and one unvaccinated adult in New Mexico died.

“That’s in that range of one to three deaths per 1,000 (cases). So, can we expect another death? Yes, I think we’re getting there where we can expect another death, and it is unconscionable,” Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNN.

“When more people are choosing not to vaccinate their children, you’re going to see more disease, more suffering, more hospitalization and more death,” he added.

More than half of U.S. states have reported at least one measles case this year and several large outbreaks are occurring.

In South Carolina, at least 985 cases have been reported since October. The outbreak is centered in Spartanburg County, where vaccination rates are low. More than 93% of cases there are in unvaccinated people, data shows.

Health officials have reported serious complications like pneumonia and encephalitis. Some pregnant women needed special treatment after exposure.

“These are complications we hope to prevent,” Dr. Linda Bell, South Carolina”s epidemiologist, told CNN. “Increasing vaccination coverage protects those who cannot be vaccinated.”

The state administered nearly 17,000 MMR vaccines in January, one of its strongest vaccination months in years, CNN said.

But Bell warned the outbreak is still going on.