(NEXSTAR) – The massive measles outbreaks of 2025 are officially spilling over into the new year. Fourteen states have reported new cases of the virus since the start of 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
The agency has already recorded 416 new cases of measles since the start of the year. Nearly all of those cases have been tied back to outbreaks that started last year.
In 2025, the CDC confirmed 2,255 measles cases across 44 states — the most since 1991 — and nearly 50 separate outbreaks.
Most of the measles cases in 2026 so far can be traced back to South Carolina, where an outbreak in Spartanburg County has exploded to the worst in the U.S. New cases have also been reported in the states bordering South Carolina, as well as in several states out west.
The virus is one of the most contagious in the world. It transmits easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs and can spread “like a forest fire” through areas where many people are unvaccinated.
See the map below for the number of new measles cases reported in each state in 2026.
Measles was officially declared “eliminated” in the United States in 2000, but it came back with a vengeance in 2025. It’s been a year since the measles outbreak that began in West Texas and started to spread nationwide.
Now, health experts say the U.S. is at risk of losing its measles elimination status. International health authorities plan to meet in April to decide.
Measles can be stopped but it requires widespread vaccination. The virus infects 9 out of every 10 unvaccinated people exposed. Community-level protection takes a 95% vaccination rate. The current rate nationally is 92.5%, according to CDC data, but many communities fall far below that.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
