US measles cases pass 5,000, highest in 35 years
Written by AI from aljazeera.com's report. Not checked by a person.
The CDC has reported 5,182 confirmed measles cases in the US in 2026, the highest number since 1991. Children and teenagers make up about 59 percent of cases, and a dispute continues over how measles deaths are counted.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 5,182 confirmed measles cases so far in 2026, the highest number the agency has recorded since 1991. The total is more than double the 2,289 confirmed cases reported in 2025.
Children under five account for 18 percent of cases, and those aged five to 19 account for 41 percent, so children and teenagers together make up about 59 percent. Of the total, 4,993 cases were linked to outbreaks. The outbreak comes as kindergarten vaccination coverage has fallen from 95.2 percent in the 2019-2020 school year to 92.4 percent in 2025-2026.
According to CDC data, four people have died of measles in 2026. That is fewer than the number reported by state officials. Pennsylvania, the state hardest hit, reports six deaths and 1,487 cases this year. Pennsylvania counts a death as "measles-associated" if a person with confirmed measles dies within 30 days of developing symptoms, unless an unrelated event caused it.
The federal count has been at the centre of a dispute between Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. The CDC first included two deaths reported by Pennsylvania in August, then removed them after Kennedy questioned whether measles had caused or contributed to them. The CDC says it is working with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists on a standard definition. Epidemiologists told Al Jazeera that tracking "measles-associated" deaths has long been a standard used by the WHO and the CDC.
