Measles outbreak surpasses 1,000 cases for the first time in 30 years

The country’s measles outbreak has surpassed 1,000 cases for the first time in 30 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed this week.The data, which is based on confirmed measles cases reported to CDC, show that the disease has now hit 1,001 people in a total of 31 states — a sharp uptick from the 285 reported cases in all of 2024.In 2025 alone, there have been a total of 14 outbreaks, which is categorized as 3 or more related cases — and 93% of the 1,001 cases were from these outbreaks.Three people have died from the disease.Two were unvaccinated, but healthy, school-aged children in Texas — which is where the majority of total cases have been confirmed — and one was an adult in New Mexico, according to NPR.The extremely contagious viral illness is spread when an infected person coughs and sneezes, and is marked by symptoms of high fever, runny nose, cough, red and watery eyes and a rash, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

“It is so contagious that about 9 out of 10 people who come near a person with measles and are not protected by vaccination will also become infected,” the CDC warns on its website.If more than 95% percent of people in a community have gotten the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, most will be protected from contracting the measles due to herd immunity.Out of the 1,001 patients with the disease, 96% were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status.Vaccination numbers are down amongst US kindergarteners, decreasing from 95.2% during the 2019–2020 school year to 92.7% during 2023–2024, according to the CDC.Children under the age of 5 account for around one-third of the 1,001 cases in the country, the latest data show.

Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F.Kennedy Jr., told CBS News the disease won’t ever disappear, since the vaccine’ effectiveness diminishes over time.“We’re always going to have measles, no matter what happens, as the vaccine wanes very quic...