WASHINGTON — As of Oct. 15, confirmed measles cases in the United States stood at 4,410, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday, 330 more than in its update a week earlier.
That is close to double the 2,289 cases recorded for all of 2025. Hospitalizations stand at 451, about 10% of cases, according to the CDC data.
Children and teenagers ages 5 to 19 account for the largest share, 1,856 cases, or 42%. Adults 20 and older are next at 1,787 cases, or 41%, the CDC said.
Most cases are tied to outbreaks. The agency counts 42 new outbreaks in 2026, and 96% of confirmed cases are outbreak-associated.
Pennsylvania has the largest outbreak. State health data put its cases at 1,222 as of Oct. 14, with 225 hospitalizations, according to Reuters.
The death count is disputed. Pennsylvania has reported five measles-associated deaths, while the CDC has confirmed two deaths in 2026 and has not identified the states involved, Reuters reported.
Last month the CDC changed how it counts measles deaths, shifting to mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics instead of state health department figures. The change has drawn scrutiny.
The CDC said on Tuesday it would send more support to Pennsylvania to help investigate the outbreak there. Earlier this month New York declared a disaster emergency for measles, the first state to do so, according to Reuters.
The United States declared measles eliminated in 2000. Coverage has slipped since then. For kindergartners, MMR coverage was 95.2% in the 2019-2020 school year and 92.4% in 2025-2026, a drop the CDC says leaves about 280,000 kindergartners at risk.
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