The US measles total grew by 81 cases this week, to 1,362 confirmed infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly update.

In addition, yesterday local and federal officials detailed New Mexico’s response to its 99-case measles outbreak last year, including a 55% increase in uptake of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to a paper in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

US on path to top last year’s high

The CDC confirmed 2,284 measles cases for all of last year, which was a 35-year high. The country could well exceed that total before summer. The United States will likely lose its measles elimination status—which it gained in 2000—in November, when officials assess all the new data.

The CDC said all but nine of the 2026 cases are from 30 states and New York City, with the rest travel-related. With two new outbreaks confirmed this week, the nation now has 14 outbreaks this year. Of all confirmed cases, 94% are associated with an outbreak.

Last year, the country saw 48 outbreaks, many of which are still ongoing. The CDC defines an outbreak as three or more related cases.

Of the 1,362 cases, 22% are in children younger than 5 years, and 76% involve children and young adults up to 19 years old. CDC data show that 92% of case-patients are unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccine status, with only 4% fully immunized with two MMR doses.

Among recent state updates, Florida’s total increased by eight to 132, according to media reports and CNN’s tracker, while the CDC map lists only 116, an increase of seven cases. By far, most cases (98) are in Collier County, home to an outbreak at Ave Maria University.

Yesterday, the Florida Department of Health reported the first measles case in Central Florida this year, according to WFTV. It involves a young adult in Osceola County.

Vaccination continues to be the best way to prevent measles and stop this outbreak.

Today, the South Carolina Department of Health confirmed three new cases, raising its total in an outbreak that began last October to 996. Officials report 30 people in quarantine and four in isolation. “Vaccination continues to be the best way to prevent measles and stop this outbreak,” the department said.

Of South Carolina’s 996 cases, 939 (94%) have been in Spartanburg County in the Upstate region.

Colorado has two new cases, 10 for the year. As noted earlier this week, Utah’s total stands at 405 infections. Of those, 209 are 2026 cases, already surpassing the 196 total for all of 2025.

Concerted efforts increased MMR uptake 55% in New Mexico

Yesterday’s MMWR report describes a major increase in MMR vaccine uptake after a public health campaign during a six-month, 99-case measles outbreak in New Mexico that included one death.

Scientists from the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) and the CDC note that the state was already on alert after Texas health officials confirmed two measles cases on January 30, 2025, in Gaines County, which sits across the border from Lea County, New Mexico. The NMDOH issued a statewide health alert on January 31 and a press release on February 3 about the increased risk in Lea County and southeastern New Mexico.

The first suspected measles case in Lea County was reported on February 9 in an unvaccinated school-aged child with no known close contacts to a measles patient. The child had not traveled outside the state recently. Lab testing confirmed the case two days later.

The same week, two adult Lea County residents with unknown vaccination status were confirmed to have measles, one of whom had traveled to Texas in the three weeks before illness onset. The three cases were not epidemiologically linked.

The state had not seen a measles outbreak in 29 years.

Of the 99 cases reported in eight counties from February 9 through August 10, two-thirds (66) were in Lea County. Sixteen patients (16%) reported travel to Texas during their incubation period. A strong majority of cases (85.8%) occurred in people who were unvaccinated (57.6%) or whose vaccination status was unknown (28.3%). 

Unlike in the current South Carolina outbreak, no school or child care center outbreaks were reported. Seven patients required hospital care, including five unvaccinated children. One infected adult who was not vaccinated died.

The NDMOH declared the outbreak over on September 26, after two 21-day incubation periods had passed since the last patient’s infectious period ended on August 14.

The 2025 measles outbreak response in New Mexico benefited from coordinated operations for communication and vaccination.

To promote vaccination and contain the outbreak, the NMDOH initiated an aggressive communication strategy that included 12 health alerts, 26 press releases, 184 social media posts, and numerous email notifications, TV public service announcements, and local radio spots. It also launched a measles webpage on February 21. A helpline received 2,004 measles-related calls.

The NMDOH also hosted 60 mobile MMR vaccination clinics in 11 counties. State officials logged a 55% increase in MMR doses administered from January 1 through September 26 (61,592) compared with the same period in 2024 (39,847). For the same period, MMR doses in children increased 18%, and in adults they almost quadrupled (291% increase).

“The 2025 measles outbreak response in New Mexico benefited from coordinated operations for communication and vaccination, building on experience developed during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the authors noted.