Measles has held “eliminated” status in the United States since 2000, a designation that means there had been no year-long, uncontrolled spread of the virus within the country for decades. But that milestone is now in jeopardy. The infection is spreading again, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 1,596 confirmed cases this year, the highest annual total in over thirty years. The actual number could be higher, says Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.Measles Case Surge In The USSince August 2025, more than 100 people have been infected in the Utah–Arizona border region, forming the second-largest measles cluster in the U.S. this year. Most patients were unvaccinated, and the virus has now moved beyond small religious circles into the general population. This outbreak followed the earlier “Southwest wave,” which infected over 880 people in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, sending national measles numbers to a 34-year record high.Experts warn that the current pattern resembles the major outbreaks seen in the early 1990s, before widespread vaccination programs curbed transmission. The largest outbreak occurred in West Texas, where 99 people were hospitalized and two unvaccinated school-age children died — the first measles deaths in the country since 2015. The Texas Department of State Health Services declared that outbreak over in mid-August. New Mexico has also reported a measles-related death, according to CNN. In response, the CDC has sent emergency teams to Utah, Arizona, Minnesota, and South Carolina to help limit the spread.What Is Causing Measles to Increase in the U.S.?In Mohave County, Arizona, vaccination coverage among kindergartners dropped from 91% in 2019–20 to 78% in 2024–25, with a similar decline noted in southwest Utah. Public health experts stress that at least 95% vaccination coverage is necessary to prevent the virus from spreading. Both Utah and Arizona allow parents to exempt children from school vaccine mandates on personal or religious grounds, leaving pockets of unprotected populations.According to The Times of India, vaccine hesitancy has deepened since the Covid-19 pandemic, fueled by political polarization and a decline in public trust toward health authorities. Notably, most of the affected towns voted heavily for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, underscoring how politics and misinformation continue to shape vaccination decisions.Will the U.S. Lose Its Measles Elimination Status?In November, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the regional arm of the World Health Organization (WHO) will hold its annual Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission meeting to review each country’s elimination status.The WHO defines a loss of elimination status as continuous transmission lasting longer than 12 months. While there are no direct penalties, re-establishing measles as an endemic disease would mark a major public health setback, leading to avoidable deaths and straining local healthcare systems.Countries that lose their elimination status are required to submit a corrective action plan, typically involving intensive vaccination efforts, stronger surveillance, and faster outbreak responses.Although President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO, PAHO officials said they still expect representatives from the CDC and the National Sustainability Commission to attend next month’s meeting.In August, local health authorities declared the end of the West Texas outbreak, which had caused 762 infections over seven months, according to state data. Neighboring New Mexico also reported 100 linked cases and one adult death, bringing the total fatalities from the outbreak to three which were two children in Texas and one adult in New Mexico, all unvaccinated.Despite these containment efforts, new clusters continue to appear in Utah, Arizona, and South Carolina, and investigators are examining whether these are connected to the Texas outbreak. If transmission persists into January, the United States could officially lose the measles elimination status it earned in 2000.The CDC calls the elimination of measles one of the country’s most significant public health achievements, made possible through a highly effective vaccination program and improved control efforts across the Americas. However, MMR vaccine coverage in both the U.S. and Canada has been steadily falling, with sharper declines noted after the Covid-19 pandemic.
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