Backsliding US measles cases reach 5-year high; 15 states report cases, Texas outbreak grows Since 2000, when measles was eliminated from US, only three years had higher cases. Beth Mole Mar 14, 2025 5:43 pm | 8 Vials of measles vaccine at the Orange County Health Department on May 6, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. Credit: Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images Vials of measles vaccine at the Orange County Health Department on May 6, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. Credit: Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe US has now recorded over 300 measles cases just three months into 2025, exceeding the yearly case counts for all years after 2019. The bulk of this year's cases are from an outbreak that erupted in an undervaccinated county in West Texas in late January, which has since spread to New Mexico and Oklahoma.As of the afternoon of March 14, Texas reports 259 cases across 11 counties, 34 hospitalizations, and one death, which occurred in an unvaccinated 6-year-old girl. New Mexico reports 35 cases across two counties, two hospitalizations, and one death. That death occurred in an unvaccinated adult who did not seek medical treatment and tested positive for the virus posthumously. The cause of death is still under investigation. Oklahoma reports two probable cases linked to the outbreak.In addition to Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, 12 other states have reported at least one confirmed measles case since the start of the year: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this year has seen three measles outbreaks, defined as three or more related cases.As of March 13, the CDC reported 301 confirmed cases, which do not include 36 new cases reported today in Texas and two in New Mexico.Measles is backSince 2000, when health officials victoriously declared measles eliminated from the US thanks to concerted vaccination campaigns, only three other years have had higher tallies of measles cases. In 2014, the country saw 667 measles cases. In 2018, there were 381 cases. And in 2019when the country was on the verge of losing its elimination statusthere was a startling 1,274 cases, largely driven by massive outbreaks in New York. Measles is considered eliminated if there is no continuous spread in the country over the course of at least 12 months. (This is not to be confused with "eradication," which is defined as "permanent reduction to zero of the worldwide incidence" of an infectious disease. Smallpox and rinderpest are the only pathogens humans have eradicated.)While measles transmission dramatically declined amid the pandemic, health officials fear that the country will once again face the potential of losing our elimination status as the virus bounces back. Since 2019, vaccination rates among kindergartners have only fallenfrom the protective target of 95 percent to 92.7 percent. Last year, the US reported 285 cases, while the case tally in 2023 was 59.What's more, measles is rising globally, creating more opportunities for unvaccinated Americans to travel abroad and bring the virus home with themthe most common spark for measles outbreaks in the US.On Thursday, the World Health Organization and UNICEF reported that the agency's European Region (which comprises 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, including Russia) saw 127,350 measles cases in 2024, double the number seen in 2023 and the highest tally since 1997.A resurgence of measles cases was seen in the region in 2018 and 2019, which was exacerbated by backsliding vaccine coverage amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccination rates have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels and cases have risen since 2023. The highest number of cases was reported in Romania, with 30,692 cases, followed by Kazakhstan with 28,147 cases."Measles is back, and its a wake-up call. Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security," Hans Kluge, WHO's regional director for Europe, warned in a statement. "As we shape our new regional health strategy for Europe and Central Asia, we cannot afford to lose ground. Every country must step up efforts to reach under-vaccinated communities. The measles virus never restsand neither can we."Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 8 Comments