INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
As of Friday, April 25, the US has confirmed over 900 measles cases since the start of the year
The cases are across 29 states, but most are in or near Texas, where a massive outbreak continues to mushroom in close-knit, undervaccinated
communities.On April 24, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had tallied 884 cases across the country
Today, the Texas health department updated its outbreak total, adding 22 cases to its last count from Tuesday
That brings the national total to at least 906 confirmed cases
Most of the cases are in unvaccinated children and teens.Overall, Texas has identified 664 cases since late January
Of those, 64 patients have been hospitalized, and two unvaccinated school-aged children with no underlying medical conditions have died of
An unvaccinated adult in New Mexico also died from the infection, bringing this year's measles death toll to three.The cases and deaths are
In the past 30 years, the only year with more measles cases than the current tally was 2019, which saw 1,274 cases
Most of those cases were linked to large, extended outbreaks in New York City that took 11 months to quell
The US was just weeks away from losing its elimination status, an achievement earned in 2000 when the country first went 12 months without
continuous transmission.Since 2019, vaccination coverage of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine among US kindergartners has only
school year, the most recent year for which there's data.In 2019, amid the record annual case tally, cases had only reached a total of 704
With this year's tally already over 900, the country is on track to record a new high
Before 2019, the next highest case total for measles was in 1994
That year, the country saw 899 cases, which 2025 has already surpassed.
