Measles Cases Rise, Continuing Year-Long Spread
West Texas outbreak 2025
Measles cases are surging in the U.S. In January, there were hundreds of cases across more than a dozen states. The spike follows a year of steady spread that public health experts warn could threaten the virus’s “eliminated” status in the U.S.
The current measles epicenter is in South Carolina, where nearly 800 people have been infected with the highly contagious virus – outpacing last year’s West Texas outbreak. That Texas outbreak killed three people, including two unvaccinated children — the first U.S. measles deaths in nearly a decade.
No signs of slowing: The largest outbreak is centered in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. The state has 876 reported cases since October 2025. Since Jan. 2, cases have climbed by more than 600. State health officials reported Tuesday 29 new cases since Friday.
800 of those infected are unvaccinated; 16 are partially vaccinated; 22 are fully vaccinated and 38 have an unknown vaccination status. Spartanburg County has a vaccine rate of 90% overall — lower than the 95% threshold needed to prevent measles.
The surge comes amid growing concern from public health experts about the impact of anti-vaccine rhetoric from prominent figures, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He has long promoted the scientifically unproven claim that vaccines, including the MMR vaccine, are linked to autism in children. And under his leadership, the CDC website now says that it is not “evidence-based” that vaccines do not cause autism. Pressed on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said he has not seen any studies supporting the theory that any vaccines cause autism.
BEYOND THE OUTBREAK
Last year, the U.S. saw its most measles cases in 34 years, with more than 2,000 cases across 44 states — about 93% among people who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status, according to the CDC. Public health experts warn the virus may now be endemic — recurring annually — despite being nearly eliminated in 2000 through vaccination.
Canada lost its measles elimination status in November 2025 after more than a year of sustained transmission, with over nearly 5,500 cases since the outbreak began in October 2024. Two deaths have been reported nationwide from the virus. Public health experts warn the U.S. could follow.
