(Matt Rourke/Associated Press)
The U.S. has confirmed 4,588 measles cases so far in 2026, double last year’s full-year total, federal and state data show, with a Pennsylvania outbreak alone accounting for nearly 30% of infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention count, current as of Thursday and posted Friday, compares with 2,289 confirmed cases in all of 2025.
This year’s cases span 47 jurisdictions, including New York City and the District of Columbia, and 43 new outbreaks; 96% involved unvaccinated people or those whose vaccination status was unknown.
Nearly 6 in 10 patients were younger than 20, and about 10% were hospitalized.
Pennsylvania sits at the center of the surge.
The state Department of Health reported 1,338 cases across 44 counties on Friday, along with 255 hospitalizations and five measles-associated deaths. A sixth death, in Franklin County, remains under investigation and has not been added to the state’s count, ABC affiliate WHTM-TV reported.
The federal tally lags behind.
The CDC lists three measles deaths nationwide this year, a figure it says is “subject to change” as reviews are completed. The agency is also working with state epidemiologists to standardize how measles deaths are classified, a step meant to make reporting consistent across jurisdictions.
One infectious disease specialist says the official numbers understate the spread.
Andrew Pavia, a pediatric infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Utah, estimated at this week’s annual IDWeek infectious disease conference that the true number of U.S. cases since the start of 2025 is likely above 20,000, The Hill reported, compared with roughly 6,900 officially recorded over that span.
“Measles is a serious illness. We are going to see the consequences for years to come,” Pavia said, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, which reported his remarks.
Pennsylvania health officials continue to urge vaccination, saying in Friday’s update that “the best protection against measles remains getting fully vaccinated.”
The state reported that only four of its cases involved vaccinated people.
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