United States: The United States has reached a new peak in measles cases for 2025 after less than three months since the West Texas outbreak began spreading.
The latest NBC News state health department data indicates 320 people contracted the disease across 16 states by Friday. Statistics show 285 confirmed cases by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2021 amounted to the highest total in three years, as reported by NBC News.
Texas and New Mexico Hit Hardest
This year, Texas leads with 259 confirmed cases, while New Mexico reports another 35 infectious measles patients. Unvaccinated individuals accounted for every instance of measles except four medical cases reported in the two states.
Measles caused the death of an unvaccinated Texas schoolchild last month alongside an unvaccinated New Mexico adult who tested positive but remains under investigation for determining the cause of death. Since 2003, America has not witnessed a measles-related death, yet the U.S. has not faced any measles fatalities during the past ten years.
A Growing Public Health Concern
Public health authorities declared the United States measles-free status in 2000 because the disease no longer spread continuously yet sporadic outbreaks still occur. During 2019 the United States faced a threat of losing its measles elimination status as 1,274 cases emerged predominantly from Orthodox Jewish communities in New York.
The recent increase in Texas and other state measles cases worries public health experts about elimination status.
Global Measles Resurgence
The increased global measles outbreaks provides multiple pathways for disease spread throughout the United States. The United Nations, together with the World Health Organization, announced more than 127,000 measles cases from European and Central Asian regions last year. The reported case numbers reflect the highest recorded figure since 1997 while surpassing 2023 figures by two times. Larger data from the CDC shows that worldwide measles cases were 20% higher between 2022 and 2023.
The WHO, together with the United Nations, state that the rise in Europe and Central Asia resulted from decreased vaccination rates during the pandemic, which still fails to reach pre-pandemic levels across various countries.
A Highly Contagious Threat
“Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call,” Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, said in a statement Thursday, adding that “every country must step up efforts to reach under-vaccinated communities.”
Due to its extremely contagious nature, an unvaccinated person may spread Measles to nine out of ten exposed individuals. Measles remains in the air for a period of at least two hours. The measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine establishes 97% effectiveness when administered twice to a patient.
Future infections inside the United States primarily originate from abroad yet declining vaccine usage has led to the domestic expansion of this virus. Medical organizations state a minimum vaccination rate of 95% is required to stop outbreaks yet the United States reported an acceptance rate of under 93% for kindergarten children who received the necessary two vaccine doses by the 2023-24 academic year.
Texas and New Mexico Urge Vaccination
The expansion of measles in Texas began in Gaines County, which reported an 82% measles vaccination rate at their kindergartens. The Mennonite population living in Seminole demonstrates high levels of vaccine hesitancy which makes the area the main center of the current outbreak. An overwhelming number of New Mexico’s measles cases have emerged within Lea County, which faces Gaines County at its border.
Texas and New Mexico public health departments call on unvaccinated inhabitants to receive their vaccines. The CDC allows infants younger than 6 months who reside in outbreak areas to get their first dose early even though it is typically given at age 1, as reported by NBC News.
Children younger than age 5 remain at greatest risk from the dangerous risks associated with measles. The CDC reports that 1 to 3 deaths happen among 1,000 children with measles who experience neurological complications along with respiratory problems.