US reports highest number of measles cases in 35 years

The United States has recorded more than 5,000 cases of measles this year, the highest number in 35 years, according to an official count released Friday.

So far in 2026, 5,182 confirmed cases have been reported across the country of the highly contagious but highly preventable disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the nation’s leading public health agency.

That compares with 2,289 cases during all of 2025, and is the highest level recorded by the CDC since 1991.

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

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

President Donald Trump’s Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is accused of fanning that distrust. He is known for his vaccine skepticism and has repeatedly disseminated misinformation about the measles vaccine and downplayed the dangers of the disease.

Measles causes fever, respiratory symptoms and a rash, and in some cases more serious complications such as pneumonia and brain inflammation, which can lead to severe long-term health problems or even death.

Before the vaccine was developed in the early 1960s, measles killed hundreds of children each year in the US. It continues to claim tens of thousands of lives worldwide.