US measles cases creep to over 1,300. We track its spread.

The number of measles cases increased by 81 to 1,362 confirmed infections, according to a recent update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The country currently has 14 new outbreaks this year. Currently, 94% of all confirmed cases were linked to these outbreaks.

President Donald Trump’s Surgeon General nominee, Dr. Casey Means, has told lawmakers that she believes people should "take the measles vaccine," according to a written response obtained by MS NOW.

This comes just weeks after Dr. Mehmet Oz urged people to get the vaccine in February. "Take the vaccine, please. We have a solution for our problem. Not all illnesses are equally dangerous and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses. But measles is one you should get your vaccine (for)," Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, said on CNN’s "State of the Union."

Measles cases year-by-year

The weekly cases chart illustrates the extent of the current outbreak in comparison to previous years by showing the number of measles cases reported each month.

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Weekly measles cases in the US

In 2025, measles cases hit a 34-year high and an increase in weekly numbers indicates the virus is still spreading this year. There were 295 new instances recorded during the second full week of the new year.

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Where are measles cases reported this year?

There are 30 states reporting measles cases in 2026: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina (the epicenter of the outbreak), South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. 

The outbreak that began last fall in South Carolina has resulted in 920 infections since then, with 664 reported in 2026, as of March 12, making it the state's largest outbreak to date.

Measles cases are on the rise again

Since January 2025, numerous confirmed cases of measles, primarily in children, have been reported. The number of cases in this outbreak is the highest since 2000.

Which states have the highest vaccination rates?

Vaccination coverage among U.S. kindergartners has decreased from 95.2% during the 2019–2020 school year to 92.5% in the 2024–2025 school year, according to the CDC.

Local vaccination rates can differ significantly and even states with high immunization rates can still have pockets of unvaccinated people.

In the U.S., about 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who contract measles are hospitalized. As many as three of every 1,000 children infected with the disease die, according to the CDC. 

How to protect yourself and others from measles

Knowing the symptoms of this vaccine-preventable disease can help reduce its chance of spreading.

According to the CDC, measles symptoms appear seven to 14 days after contact with the virus and typically include high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes. Measles rash appears three to five days after the first symptoms.

Other signs and symptoms include:

• Koplik's spots, tiny white spots that may appear inside the mouth two to three days after symptoms begin.
• Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots (the spots may become joined as they spread from the head to the rest of the body).
• When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104 degrees.

SOURCE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy, University of Minnesota, Kaiser Family Foundation, Mayo Clinic and USA TODAY research