US measles cases climb past 4,400 as the outbreak keeps spreading
The story
The number of measles cases in the United States keeps going up. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that 4,410 confirmed cases had been reported this year as of October 15. That is 330 more than the agency counted just one week earlier.
The illness has put 451 people in the hospital so far in 2026. Cases have been reported in 47 jurisdictions across the country, and 18 more were found among international visitors. Almost all of them, about 96 percent, are tied to known outbreaks.
Pennsylvania has been hit the hardest. State health data shows 1,222 cases there this year as of October 14, along with 225 hospital stays, and the state has reported five deaths linked to measles. The CDC said this week it would send more help, including an investigator, to figure out how the virus is spreading there. The agency itself has confirmed two measles deaths nationwide this year.
Young people make up the biggest share of those getting sick. Children and teenagers between 5 and 19 account for 42 percent of cases, while adults 20 and older make up 41 percent. Children under 5 make up the rest.
Other states are feeling the strain too. New York declared a disaster emergency over measles earlier this month, the first time any US state has done that for the disease. Health officials are pushing to get more people vaccinated, since measles spreads very easily among anyone who is not protected.
