Measles cases in US reach highest level in 35 years

Measles has surged to a 35-year high in the US, with 5,182 cases and at least eight deaths this year.

The United States has recorded more than 5,000 cases of measles this year, the highest number in 35 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Vanguard reports.

So far in 2026, 5,182 confirmed cases have been reported, compared with 2,289 during all of 2025. It is the highest level the CDC has recorded since 1991.

State health officials have reported at least eight measles-related deaths, including among very young children.

Measles was declared eradicated from the US in 2000 thanks to vaccination, but it has made a strong comeback, fuelled by declining vaccination rates and growing public distrust of health authorities.

Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is accused of fanning that distrust. He is known for vaccine scepticism and has repeatedly downplayed the disease’s dangers.

Measles causes fever, respiratory symptoms and a rash, and can lead to pneumonia and brain inflammation. Before the early 1960s vaccine, it killed hundreds of US children yearly.