Measles surges past 5,000 US cases, the worst count since 1991

The CDC's latest count landed Friday: 5,182 confirmed measles cases across the United States so far in 2026. That's the highest number the agency has recorded in 35 years, dating back to 1991. For comparison, the entire 2025 total was 2,289 cases.

The outbreak has turned deadly. State health officials have reported at least eight measles-related deaths, including among very young children. Pediatric infectious disease specialist Adam Ratner told AFP those deaths are a gut punch precisely because they didn't have to happen, calling them tragic and completely preventable.

Measles was declared eradicated from the United States in 2000 on the strength of vaccination. Since then it has clawed its way back, driven by falling vaccination rates and growing public distrust of health authorities. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who serves under President Donald Trump, is accused of feeding that distrust — he is known for vaccine skepticism and has repeatedly pushed misinformation about the measles vaccine while downplaying how dangerous the disease is.

Ratner didn't mince words about the top health official. He said Kennedy doesn't believe measles is a big problem and doesn't want to believe there are deaths from it. The burden, Ratner added, falls on children, who aren't the ones making these decisions.

Measles brings fever, respiratory symptoms and a rash, and in some cases far worse: pneumonia and brain inflammation that can cause lasting health damage or death. Before the vaccine arrived in the early 1960s, the disease killed hundreds of children every year in the US. Worldwide, it still claims tens of thousands of lives annually.