With 177 new cases added today, the US measles count has climbed to 3,471, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its weekly update has yet to acknowledge any of the four measles-related deaths recently reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH), two in babies and two involving adults.

Last year, the CDC confirmed that three people, including two children, died of measles. But this year, the agency has taken the unusual step of saying measles deaths must be confirmed by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Some say this approach adds confusion, as NCHS data are typically used to assess long-term disease and death trends, not to confirm new cases and deaths. It has also introduced a substantial delay in confirming the deaths in Pennsylvania.

Today’s increase marks the sixth straight week of triple-digit increases in cases.

The CDC today noted 39 outbreaks, one more than last week. Last year saw 48 measles outbreaks, defined as three or more related cases. Total cases for all of 2025 reached 2,289, which was the most since 1991 until the country surpassed that level in July. 

The 2026 total is already 52% higher than the 2025 total, with more than three months left in the year.

All but 17 of this year’s cases have been locally acquired, with the rest tied to international travel. Cases have been confirmed in 45 states plus New York City and Washington, DC.

Of the 2026 cases, 18% involve children younger than 5 years, and 62% involve kids and teens. Nine percent of patients have been hospitalized, a percent that has been rising—from 8% last week—compared with 11% in 2025. Among all measles patients, 95% are unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. 

To put this year’s rapidly growing numbers in context, just two years ago (2024), cases for the year reached 285. In 2023, the number of US infections topped off at 59—far lower than the nation’s current weekly growth, or even Pennsylvania’s weekly growth (see next section).

That means that this year’s numbers represent a 58-times-higher figure compared with less than three years ago (see the CDC graph at the end of the story). And, again, we have months of measles escalation left in 2026.

When compared to other countries, the United States has had 13.2 measles cases per 1 million people in 2026 through September 14, according to World Health Organization data. An analysis today by FactCheck.org says that places the nation at the 65th highest among 169 countries with available data.

“That places it in the worst 38% of nations, and about as good as Russia,” the report notes. The United States performed slightly better last year but still had the 86th highest per capita measles rate out of 184 nations.

We are currently in the worst bout of measles that the United States has seen in more than 30 years.

FactCheck conducted the assessment in response to repeated remarks by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on how well the United States is responding to measles outbreaks compared to other nations.

“We’re doing a better job than any country in the world at controlling the measles outbreak. This is a worldwide epidemic,” Kennedy said a few weeks ago.

“I don’t think that there’s any evidence that that is the case,” said Josh Michaud, PhD, MHS, an associate director of global and public health policy at KFF, in the FactCheck story. “There are countries that are sort of peer countries—you know, peer developed countries—which have very, very little, basically no outbreaks of measles.”

“Let’s compare ourselves to ourselves,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University. “We are currently in the worst bout of measles that the United States has seen in more than 30 years.”

In an update today, the Pennsylvania DOH added 36 new infections in the past two days and 93 cases in the past week, bringing the state’s 2026 total to 767. The state has the most cases for 2026.

Lancaster County has by far the most cases in the state, with 324, followed by Mifflin (93), Chester (72), and Snyder (35).

The CDC’s measles map lists 670 infections this year in South Carolina, though its outbreak—which totaled 997 cases for 2025 and 2026—was declared over on April 27. Utah is listed third on the CDC map, with 527 cases (one new), followed by Texas (192), Virginia (178), and Wisconsin (158; one new).

Of Pennsylvania’s total, more than 99% of cases involve unvaccinated or undervaccinated people. Of the 767 patients, 150 (20%, or about one in five) have required hospitalization. As opposed to the national trend, 68% of those infected have been adults.

The DOH said, “The best protection against measles remains getting fully vaccinated. The MMR [measles, mumps, and rubella] vaccine, administered over two doses, boosts a person’s immune system and provides 97% lifetime protection.”

Ohio this week confirmed 47 new cases and 180 total. The hardest-hit counties are Wayne (43 cases), Geauga (38), and Ashtabula (32).

In an update today, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) confirmed four news cases this week and 167 for the year.

The best protection against measles remains getting fully vaccinated.

The DHS noted that 158 confirmed and six probable cases so far in 2026 are in an outbreak in Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette counties in southwestern Wisconsin. Three of those infections are new this week.

The DHS said, “The ongoing investigation indicates that measles is spreading locally.”

According to its state health department, Utah has gone for weeks without a confirmed case. Its case count stands at 518. The count, however, is nine cases lower than the CDC’s tally.