The number of measles cases in the U.S. has reached a 33-year record high, years after it was officially eliminated in the country, prompting public health experts to sound the alarm that other diseases could experience a similar resurgence.
There have been 1,288 confirmed measles cases in the U.S. this year as of Tuesday, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s the largest number of cases reported in the country since 1992—eight years before the disease was declared eliminated from the U.S. Measles is a highly contagious disease that can lead to serious health complications, including death, but is vaccine preventable through the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Public health experts have largely credited its official elimination from the U.S. to a successful vaccination program. Over the past few years, however, vaccination rates have decreased, and the number of measles cases has soared. In 92% of the cases confirmed in the country so far this year, CDC data show, the person who got measles was unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown.
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The alarming new case milestone didn’t come as a surprise to many public health experts.
“I was expecting us to hit this record this year,” says Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and founder of the newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist. “But it was more of the reality hitting that this has finally happened—that we are really here in this moment in 2025. And I’m very concerned about what it means for the future.”
Experts warn that the rise in measles cases could be a harbinger for an increase in the prevalence of other diseases too.
“Measles is the most contagious virus on Earth, so it’s often the first to resurge when vaccination coverage declines,” Jetelina says. “We’ve managed to keep measles at bay for decades thanks to high vaccination rates, but those rates are…
