This year’s infections are more than three times the cases reported in 2024.
“There were 11 outbreaks reported in 2025 (defined as three or more related cases), with 93% of confirmed cases (884 of 820) being linked to the outbreak,” the agency said. “For comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported in 2024, with 69% of cases (198 of 285) associated with the outbreak.”
At the end of March, the number was around 736, so about 148 new cases were reported in April, based on weekly CDC estimates.
“Some people consider measles to be a slight rash and fever in a few days. However, measles can cause serious health complications, especially in children under the age of five.”
The number of cases so far this year is between 5 and 19 years old, with 338 people infected with the disease. Children under the age of 5 were the group with the highest number of infections.
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In total, there have been three measles-related deaths so far.
As of April 24, measles cases this year were more than three times higher than the 285 incidents reported in 2024.
Texas was the most affected state in 2025. New Mexico then sees quite a few, as well as Oklahoma, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
“There were two deaths among school-age children who lived in the birth area. The children were not vaccinated and the underlying conditions were unknown,” the agency said.
“The highly contagious nature of the disease can lead to additional cases in the outbreak area and surrounding communities.”
If a health care provider suspects that the patient has measles, the individual should be “quickly” isolated and “ideally in a single patient airborne infection isolation room (AIIR), or in a private room with closed doors until AIIR is available.”
The agency advised people with measles to contact their health care providers so that “the facility can limit additional exposure.”
Despite the surge in US measles incidents this year, the CDC said the risk of infection remains “low” in most of the countries, resulting in “high immunity coverage and rapid case identification and response efforts.”
MMR vaccination
The CDC advises you to prevent measles by getting a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, especially if you are considering traveling.
“An estimated 48,000 people were hospitalized before the measles vaccine was introduced, and 400-500 people died in the United States each year,” he said.
“Vaccinations not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity and protect those who are unable to get vaccinated for medical reasons,” he said.
“The decision to get the vaccine is personal,” Kennedy said.
Lower antibody levels “suggest that vaccine-induced protection may be impaired and the rate of seronegative/borderlines may increase,” the study states.
