Measles Outbreaks Are Growing Again — And Spreading Fast!

Measles outbreaks continue to spread around the country. This year the U.S. has seen the highest number of measles cases in more than three decades. As of mid-October 2025, nearly 1,600 cases have been confirmed nationwide. Although the massive outbreak in Texas has been declared over, new pockets of infection have appeared in Minnesota, South Carolina, Utah and Arizona.

In several communities, schools are taking extraordinary precautions. In South Carolina, for example, roughly 150 students have been quarantined after measles exposures in Spartanburg and Greenville counties. Public health experts warn that because measles is so contagious, even small clusters can quickly ignite widespread outbreaks.

On October 15, 2025 the CDC updated its measles page with the following announcement:

“As of October 14, 2025, a total of 1,596 confirmed measles cases were reported in the United States. Among these, 1,573 measles cases were reported by 42 jurisdictions: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. A total of 23 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the U.S.”

A Virus That Never Truly Vanished:

The CDC declared measles “eliminated” from the United States in 2000—but that didn’t mean the virus was gone. In that year, the CDC still recorded 85 cases. By 2004, the number dropped to just 37, but there were spikes again in 2014 (667 cases) and 2019 (1,274 cases).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, reported cases fell to just 13 in 2020, as mask-wearing, school closures, and limited travel slowed transmission. But by 2024, the count had risen to 285 cases, and this year’s surge shows how fragile that progress was.

Where Did the Latest Measles Outbreaks Start?

We have received many messages from visitors to this website who insist that the measles problem was caused by illegal aliens. Now that the border has been closed, though, that argument becomes a bit harder to sustain. We also need to look at the communities where measles originated.

The 2025 wave began in Texas and New Mexico, and public health investigators have traced many early cases to a tight-knit Mennonite community in West Texas. Similar to some Amish, Mennonite, and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups, this community includes people who reject vaccines.

Vaccine refusal is also increasing in certain Conservative Christian groups, amplifying the risk of measles outbreaks in undervaccinated areas. For many people, refusing vaccines has become a political statement.

Now, over 40 states have recorded measles cases, with Texas still reporting the highest total—more than 700 infections. Other affected states include California, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and many others.

A Short History of Measles Outbreaks:

We have known about measles since the 10th century. It was first identified by Dr. Rhazes, a Persian physician who described this illness “as more to be dreaded than smallpox.”

Measles outbreaks were widespread around the world by the Middle Ages. The word measles comes in part from the Latin word for misery (misella). Before a vaccine was developed, millions of people in the U.S. caught this viral disease annually and hundreds died.

A vaccine was developed in 1963 and by 2000 the US had bragged that measles had been all but eradicated. Now, though, we are experiencing more cases of measles than we have in over 30 years.

Why Measles Is Returning:

Epidemiologists point to two primary reasons for the resurgence:

1. Missed childhood vaccinations during the pandemic years and
2. Rising vaccine hesitancy by many diverse groups

The MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella) is 97% effective after two doses. Because there is no cure for measles, vaccination remains the best—and only—protection.

Why, you may ask, am I such a supporter of this vaccine?

First, I was a victim of polio when I was a very young child. I was put in a polio ward at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). You have no idea what it was like to be separated from my parents and put in traction in an isolation ward. Alien beings wearing masks and white gowns kept their distance. Traction was a terrible experience because I could not move. And my parents could not visit. Children were dying around me. I admit that I have experienced PTSD as a result of this experience.

At a slightly older age I caught pertussis, also known as whooping cough. I was terribly sick for a long time. To this day, any lung infection that makes me cough sounds awful. I suspect that some damage was done to my lungs that has never completely healed.

If you have never caught polio or whooping cough, consider yourself very lucky. Chances are that a vaccine when you were young has protected you from these devastating illnesses.

Why Measles Is So Contagious:

The measles virus spreads through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes or just breathes. It can linger in a room for up to two hours, infecting nine out of ten unvaccinated people who breathe the same air.

Symptoms usually appear 10 to 14 days after exposure and start like a bad cold or the flu—fever, sore throat, runny nose, red eyes, and cough. A few days later, tiny white Koplik spots appear inside the mouth, followed by the characteristic red rash that spreads from the face downward.

What Are the Symptoms of Measles?

Measles, also called rubeola, is caused by a virus that is highly contagious. It spreads a lot like the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID. If the person ahead of you in line at a grocery store has measles, there is a good chance you will catch it if you are not vaccinated.

Within ten days to two weeks of exposure, the patient may experience a high fever, sore throat, runny nose, red, watery eyes, dry cough, headache and muscle pain.

So far, it sounds a lot like the flu or a flu-like illness. However, two to three days later tiny white spots develop on reddened areas of the inner cheek. Doctors call them Koplik spots. In addition, there is the measles rash. It often starts on the chest, back and face, but the red spots frequently spread to other parts of the body.

Complications Can Be Severe:

Measles is not a mild illness.

• 1 in 20 children develops pneumonia.

• 1 in 1,000 suffers brain inflammation (encephalitis), which can lead to seizures or permanent brain damage.

• 1–2 in 1,000 can die from the infection.

Survivors of a measles outbreak can also face lasting vision or hearing loss. Cognitive difficulties may also linger.

What Is the Future of Measles?

Although the US was almost free of measles 25 years ago, that is no longer the case. The virus has found fertile ground in communities where vaccination rates have slipped. Without renewed efforts to strengthen immunization programs and public trust, measles outbreaks will continue to flare—and spread.

Measles Outbreaks Will Not Go Away On Their Own:

Unless we are able to restore confidence in vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella, all these diseases will flourish. As someone who caught measles, whooping cough, and polio as a child before vaccines were available, I know firsthand how dangerous these diseases can be.

There have been outbreaks in Israel, Ukraine, India, Madagascar, France and Greece, to name just a few of the countries that have seen measles outbreaks over the last several years. Unless America decides to stop all tourists from entering the U.S., visitors will bring diseases with them. Once here, they will spread as long as a critical mass of people remains unvaccinated.

Vaccines are not perfect! And yes, they can produce serious side effects in some people. You can learn more about vaccine effectiveness at this link. On balance, though, the protection they offer is important.

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