U.S. measles cases hit 35-year high early 2026, Johns Hopkins data shows

The United States has reached a 35-year peak in measles cases, with 2,295 infections confirmed by the Johns Hopkins University tracker as of Tuesday. The figure exceeds the 2025 total of 2,289, which had been the highest annual count since the 1991 outbreak that affected 9,500 people.

"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," said William Moss, an epidemiology professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He added that the situation is "very frustrating" and indicates a failure to halt virus transmission.

South Carolina reported nearly 1,000 cases by the end of April, incurring an estimated $2.1 million in response costs. Epidemiologist Dr. Syra Madad described the trend as a "major public health warning sign" and cautioned that, without intensified vaccination and containment efforts, 2026 case numbers could exceed 2025's total substantially.

Health officials have reported several exposure incidents, including a measles case at Los Angeles International Airport in June and a potential exposure at a New York City restaurant in May. Madad emphasized that measles, once declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, requires sustained high vaccination coverage, rapid outbreak detection, and robust local public-health response to remain under control.

Medical experts note that measles can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, and the rare but fatal neurological disorder subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), which can appear decades after infection. Dr. Sharon Nachman explained that the virus can remain dormant in the brain and cause damage many years later.

Public health leaders continue to urge vaccination to maintain community immunity and protect individuals who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.