U.S. measles cases surpass 2019 count, while Missouri is latest state with an outbreak

Associated Press

8 hours ago

The U.S. is having its worst year for measles spread since 1991, with a total of 1,288 cases nationally and another six months to go. But in Gaines County, Texas, which was once the nation's epicenter for measles activity, health officials said they are no longer seeing ongoing measles transmission.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention count, updated Wednesday, is 14 more cases than in all of 2019, when the U.S. almost lost its status of having eliminated measles. There've been three deaths in the U.S. this year, and all were unvaccinated: two elementary school-aged children in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico.
A vast majority of this year's cases are from Texas, where a major outbreak raged through the late winter and spring, but where no new outbreak cases were reported this week. Other states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah. Missouri confirmed its first outbreak July 3.
North American has three other large outbreaks. The longest, in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 2,223 cases from mid-October through July 2. The province logged its first death June 5 in a baby who got congenital measles but also had other preexisting conditions.
Another outbreak in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 1,246 as of Wednesday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 2,966 measles cases and eight deaths as of Wednesday, according to data from the state health ministry.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that's airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.
How many measles cases are there in Texas?
Texas stayed steady Tuesday with 753 outbreak-related measles cases across 36 counties, most of them in West Texas, state data shows.
Throughout the outbreak, 99 people have been hospitalized. State health officials estimated less than 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — were actively infectious as of Tuesday.
More than half of Texas' cases are in Gaines County, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 414 cases since late January — just under 2% of its residents. Statewide, only Lamar County has ongoing measles transmission, officials said Tuesday.
The state also said Tuesday there are 39 cases across 19 counties that don't have a clear link to the outbreak now, but may end up added to it after further investigation.
The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of 'what the child's doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.' A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6.
How many measles cases are there in New Mexico?
New Mexico had 95 measles cases on Tuesday.
While most of the state's cases are in Lea County, 14 cases are tied to an outbreak in a jail in Luna County.
An unvaccinated adult died of measles-related illness March 6. The person did not seek medical care. Seven people have been hospitalized since the state's outbreak started.
San Juan, Eddy, Chaves, Curry, Doña Ana and Sandoval counties also had measles cases this year.
How many cases are there in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma held steady Tuesday for a total of 17 confirmed and three probable cases.
The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases.
How many cases are there in Arizona?
Arizona has four cases in Navajo County. They are linked to a single source, the county health department said June 9. All four were unvaccinated and had a history of recent international travel.
How many cases are there in Colorado?
Colorado has seen a total of 16 measles cases in 2025, which includes one outbreak of 10 related cases.
The outbreak is linked to a Turkish Airlines flight that landed at Denver International Airport in mid-May. Four of the people were on the flight with the first person diagnosed — an out-of-state traveler not included in the state count — while five got measles from exposure in the airport and one elsewhere.
Health officials are also tracking an unrelated case in a fully vaccinated Boulder County resident who had traveled to Europe. Other counties that have seen measles this year include Archuleta and Pueblo.
How many cases are there in Georgia?
Georgia has an outbreak of three cases in metro Atlanta, with the most recent infection confirmed June 18.
The state has confirmed six total cases in 2025. The remaining three are part of an unrelated outbreak from January.
How many cases are there in Illinois?
Illinois health officials confirmed a four-case outbreak on May 5 in the far southern part of the state. It grew to eight cases as of June 6, but no new cases were reported in the following weeks, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The state's other two cases so far this year were in Cook County, and are unrelated to the southern Illinois outbreak.
How many cases are there in Iowa?
Iowa has had six total measles cases in 2025.
Four are part of an outbreak in eastern Johnson County, among members of the same household. County health officials said the people are isolating at home, so they don't expect additional spread.
How many cases are there in Kansas?
Kansas added five more cases this week for a total of 87 across 11 counties in the southwestern part of the state, with three hospitalizations. All but three of the cases are connected, and most are in Gray County.
How many measles cases are there in Kentucky?
Central Kentucky has an outbreak of eight cases, the state said Monday. The cases are in Fayette County, which includes Lexington, and neighboring Woodford County.
The state has confirmed 11 total cases this year.
How many cases are there in Michigan?
In northern Michigan, Grand Traverse County has an outbreak of four cases as of Wednesday.
The state declared an earlier outbreak of four cases in Montcalm County, near Grand Rapids in western Michigan, over June 2. The state has had 18 cases total in 2025; eight are linked to outbreaks.
How many cases are there in Missouri?
Missouri has seven cases as of Wednesday.
Five cases are in southwestern Cedar County, and four of those are members of the same family. The fifth case is still under investigation, according to county health director Victoria Barker.
How many cases are there in Montana?
Montana had 25 measles cases as of Wednesday. Seventeen were in Gallatin County, which is where the first cases showed up — Montana's first in 35 years.
Flathead and Yellowstone counties had two cases each, and Hill County had four cases.
There are outbreaks in neighboring North Dakota and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
How many cases are there in North Dakota?
North Dakota, which hadn't seen measles since 2011, was up to 34 cases as of June 6, but has held steady since. Two of the people have been hospitalized. All of the people with confirmed cases were not vaccinated.
There were 16 cases in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. On the eastern side of the state, there were 10 cases in Grand Forks County and seven cases in Cass County. Burke County, in northwest North Dakota on the border of Saskatchewan, Canada, had one case.
How many cases are there in Utah?
Utah had nine total measles cases as of Tuesday. At least three of the cases are linked, according to the state health department.
State epidemiologist Dr. Leisha Nolen said there are at least three different measles clusters in the state.
Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?
Measles cases also have been reported this year in Alaska, Arkansas, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
Health officials declared earlier outbreaks in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania over after six weeks of no new cases. Tennessee's outbreak also appears to be over.
Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. The CDC said in May that more than twice as many measles have come from outside of the U.S. compared to May of last year. Most of those are in unvaccinated Americans returning home.
What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?
The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don't need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from 'killed' virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.
People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don't need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have 'presumptive immunity.'
Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — due to 'herd immunity.' But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.
What are the symptoms of measles?
Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.
The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.
Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
How can you treat measles?
There's no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.
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