Three months into 2025, US measles cases surpass total for 2024
The high numbers are driven by a large outbreak in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Paramyxovirus measles virus. (Image credit: Centers for Disease Control (CDC) / Dr Erskine Palmer. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
(CNN) — Three months into 2025, the United States has surpassed the total number of measles cases in the country for all of last year.
So far in 2025, there have been at least 308 measles cases reported in the United States, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2024, there were 285 measles cases. The high numbers are driven by a large outbreak in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
In the years since measles was declared eliminated in the US, there have been an average of about 179 measles cases reported each year. There have been an average of about 8 outbreaks per year – ranging from 1 to 25 annually – and most years at least 60% of all reported cases have been tied to outbreaks. But the worst outbreaks each year typically stay under 50 cases. 2025 is only the fifth year since 2000 that an outbreak has led to more than 100 cases and only the third year that an outbreak has led to more than 200 cases. The others were the Disneyland outbreak that started in 2014 and 2019 when a nearly year-long outbreak in New York came within weeks of ending elimination status in the US.
Last month, Texas announced the outbreak’s first death – a school-aged child who was not vaccinated and had no underlying conditions. Health officials in New Mexico said last week they are investigating the cause of death of an unvaccinated person who tested positive for measles. The Lea County resident had not sought out health care.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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