US hits most cases of worlds most contagious disease in 35 years and its only July

Less than seven months into 2026, the United States has already reached a 35-year high for annual measles cases.As of Tuesday, there are 2,295 confirmed cases across the country, according to Johns Hopkins University’s US measles tracker — which was more recently updated than the CDC’s tracking.That surpasses 2025’s record-breaking total of 2,289 for the entire year — a number that has been startling because it was the highest since a 1991 outbreak that infected 9,500.“The fact that we’ve reached this total this early in the year is really a reflection of those large outbreaks earlier in the year, particularly in South Carolina and Utah,” William Moss, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told the Washington Post.

“It’s very frustrating.This is a reflection that we have been unable to stop measles virus transmission in this country.”Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000 following widespread adoption of the vaccine.

Cases dropped from roughly 3 to 4 million a year to only about 180.But dropping vaccine rates have led to a steady increase of infections — with one doctor warning that the trend is allowing the disease to spread.“This is a major public health warning sign,” epidemiologist Dr.Syra Madad told The Post.More and more cases are making the news.

In June, someone with measles exposed scores of travelers at LAX.In May, New York city officials alerted diners at an Italian restaurant they might’ve been exposed over the course of three hours.Madad warned that without major changes, 2026 case numbers could pass 2025’s “substantially” by the end of the year.“We should be cautious about making exact projections because outbreaks can slow when vaccination campaigns, isolation, contact tracing and community engagement are effective.

But the current pattern is deeply concerning,” she said.“Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but elimination is not a pe...