Latest measles case map, outbreak numbers. See impacted states.
Measles cases are on the rise across the country with more than 500 cases reported in South Carolina, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Three percent (23 people) of the total cases have required hospital care this year, compared with 11% in 2025. There have been no deaths reported this year so far. Three people were reported to have died from the disease last year, the most since 1991.
The U.S. is on course to surpass that number this year and lose the ‘measles elimination’ status achieved in 2000 as a result of concerted vaccination campaigns.
Weekly measles cases in the US
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As measles cases increase across the United States, Dr. Mehmet Oz is urging people to get the vaccine.
“Take the vaccine, please. We have a solution for our problem. Not all illnesses are equally dangerous, and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses. But measles is one you should get your vaccine (for),” Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Feb. 8.
Where are measles cases reported this year?
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, measles was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000, but recent intermittent outbreaks have been linked to foreign visitors and a large number of unvaccinated people.
There are 20 states reporting measles cases in 2026: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina (the epicenter of the outbreak), South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
The outbreak that began last fall in South Carolina has resulted in 920 infections since then, with 546 reported in 2026, as of Feb. 5, making it the state’s largest outbreak to date.
Measles cases making a big come back
Large numbers of confirmed measles cases, mostly in children, have been reported since January 2025. This outbreak’s case count is the largest since 2000.
Why is measles so contagious?
Measles is considered one of the most contagious diseases. It can linger in the air, infecting non-immune people hours after an infected person leaves the room. How the measles virus compares with other infectious diseases:
In the U.S., about one in five unvaccinated people who contract measles are hospitalized. As many as three of every 1,000 children infected with the disease die, according to the CDC.
Where vaccinations rates continue to decline
While all states in the United States require kindergarten vaccinations for students to enter schools, 47 states provide exemptions based on religious or personal beliefs, and all states allow medical exemptions. Exemptions are increasing; in the 2024–2025 school year, they hit a record 3.6%, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Which states have the highest vaccination rates?
How to protect yourself and others from measles
Knowing the symptoms of this vaccine-preventable disease can help reduce its chance of spreading.
According to the CDC, measles symptoms appear seven to 14 days after contact with the virus and typically include high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes. Measles rash appears three to five days after the first symptoms.
Other signs and symptoms include:
- Koplik’s spots, tiny white spots that may appear inside the mouth two to three days after symptoms begin.
- Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots (the spots may become joined as they spread from the head to the rest of the body).
- When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104 degrees.
SOURCE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy, University of Minnesota, Kaiser Family Foundation, Mayo Clinic and USA TODAY research
Contributing Sara Moniuszko/USA TODAY
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