Outbreak mainly affected members of communities with low measles vaccination coverage in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Eight hundred cases of measles were reported in the United States as of April 17, 2025, representing the second highest annual case count in 25 years, according to research published in the April 24 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Adria D. Mathis, M.S.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues describe the multistate measles outbreak, mainly affecting members of close-knit communities with low measles vaccination coverage in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, which began in January 2025.
The researchers found that 800 cases had been reported in the United States as of April 17, 2025; 82 percent of cases in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas have been associated with the ongoing outbreak. These cases represent an increase of about 180 percent over the 285 measles cases reported in the United States during 2024 and the second highest annual case count in 25 years in the United States. Overall, 96 percent of patients were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. Eighty-five patients (11 percent) have been hospitalized and three have died. Forty-four of 48 internationally imported cases occurred among U.S. residents.
“Recent increasing global measles incidence in areas frequently visited by U.S. travelers, coupled with declines in measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination coverage in many U.S. jurisdictions to <95 percent (the estimated population-level immunity necessary to prevent measles outbreaks), and spread of measles from ongoing domestic outbreaks to other jurisdictions, have increased the risk for ongoing measles transmission within the United States,” the authors write.
One author disclosed employment with ASRT Inc.
Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
