US measles case count hits 33-year high
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There have been 1,277 confirmed cases of measles this year, which has eclipsed 2019 to become the highest annual total since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000. And there is still half
Measles was considered eradicated in the United States in 2000. For the first time in 25 years, cases have reached a new high.
This year is the worst for measles spread in the U.S. since 1991. The news comes as Missouri has become the 18th state with an outbreak in 2025.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. is currently experiencing its worst measles outbreak in more than 30 years, according to the Associated Press. On Wednesday, the CDC said the 2025 case count has surpassed the 2019 count, when there were 1,274 cases for the year.
Confirmed measles cases in the U.S. reached 1,288, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed on Wednesday, the highest since the childhood disease was declared eliminated from the country in 2000.
Johns Hopkins University data reflects the public health reversal in defeating the vaccine-preventable disease since measles was officially eliminated from the U.S. in 2000.