CDC reports six US measles deaths amid worst outbreak in 35 years
The United States is facing its largest measles outbreak since 1991, with more than 5,400 cases reported nationwide and active outbreaks in nearly every state. The CDC has recorded six measles-related deaths in 2026, twice the number reported in 2025. Measles was officially declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but the highly infectious virus has returned on a scale not seen in decades.
Pennsylvania has been the most severely affected state, with officials confirming six measles-associated deaths this year. A child also died in New York on election day, marking the state’s first known measles-related fatality in more than 30 years, and Wisconsin health officials later confirmed the death of an infant. The CDC has not said which states account for the six deaths in its official tally.
The discrepancy reflects a change in the agency’s method for tracking measles fatalities under US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. The CDC now uses data from the National Center for Health Statistics to monitor mortality trends. Kennedy had previously questioned whether two Pennsylvania deaths were caused by measles, and Reuters reported that he asked CDC director Erica Schwartz not to include them. The agency changed its data source the day after that report. The MMR vaccine provides about 97% protection after two doses, but the US could lose its measles-elimination status this week, joining Canada and several countries in Europe and Asia where the disease has resurged.
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