US measles outbreak hits case counts not seen in 35 years

Washington: Since 2026 began, the United States has already recorded its worst measles outbreak in 35 years, according to official figures released Friday, a serious uptick in cases as vaccine hesitancy grows.

In just seven months, 2,318 confirmed cases of the highly contagious illness have been recorded, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That surpasses the total for 2025, a year that had already shattered records, posting 2,289 cases and three deaths including two young children.

"We are witnessing an avoidable crisis that disproportionally hurts children," said Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"We should not accept this as our new normal."

Measles causes fever, respiratory symptoms and skin rashes. 

In some cases, it can also lead to more severe complications including pneumonia and brain inflammation, which can lead to serious long-term impacts and death.

In 2000, measles was declared eradicated in the United States, thanks to vaccination.

But it's made a strong comeback in recent years against a backdrop of declining vaccination rates and growing distrust in health authorities.

US President Donald Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, is accused of contributing significantly to the crisis, by spreading anti-vaccine sentiment and fueling fears of well-studied and proven immunizations.

The last time the United States experienced such a high number of measles cases was in 1991, when 9,643 cases were recorded.

Cases began falling dramatically after a two-dose vaccine regimen became the norm.

Prior to the development of a measles vaccine in the early 1960s, measles killed hundreds of children annually in the US.

It continues to claim tens of thousands of lives worldwide.