Measles cases in the United States have reached their highest number in more than 30 years, according to new federal data published by the CDC earlier this week. This level also comes during a dramatic period of increased illegal immigration with entrants who are not vetted for existing diseases, health records, or vaccination records.
There have been 1,288 confirmed measles cases across 38 states nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By comparison, the U.S. recorded 285 cases all of last year, according to the agency.
Over half of the confirmed cases this year have been reported from Texas, which has had high levels of illegal immigration, including both accompanied and unaccompanied children. Most of those children have no vaccination records and are unlikely to have received measles vaccines in their home countries. Only two cases have been reported in Tennessee. The other states with higher levels of reported measles cases are New Mexico and California, both border states with Mexico.
This national figure marks the highest number of cases since 1992. The previous high occurred in 2019 when the U.S. reported 1,274 cases.
Nearly 40 states have reported confirmed cases, with Tennessee being one of them. Among the nationally confirmed cases, the CDC said 92% are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
Meanwhile, 4% of cases are among those who have received just one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, and 4% of cases are among those who received the required two doses, according to the CDC.
There have been at least 27 outbreaks this year, accounting for 88% of confirmed cases. By comparison, 16 outbreaks were recorded in 2024.
Texas experienced a large outbreak this year, with 753 cases reported since January. The rate of spread has slowed in recent weeks, with few cases reported.
Two school-aged children died, both of whom were unvaccinated and had no known underlying conditions, according to Texas health officials.
Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 due to a highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. However, CDC data shows vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years. Nevertheless, there has been no effort to identify what portion of those reported measles cases are due to unvaccinated American children versus unvaccinated children of undocumented immigrants.
Steve Gill is the Publisher of TriStar Daily.
