Measles, one of the most contagious viruses in the world, is regularly infecting people in the U.S. again.
NBC News is continuing to track confirmed measles cases across the United States in 2026 using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Already in 2026 more than 1,000 cases have been counted, making 2026 one of the three worst years for measles infections in the U.S. since 2000.
Measles case counts reached a 34-year high last year, and a surge in weekly counts shows the virus is continuing to spread this year. In the second full week of the new year, 295 new cases were reported.
The map below will be updated regularly to show year-to-date new measles case counts reported in each state and Washington, D.C.
The disease epicenter is now in South Carolina, where the CDC has confirmed 600-plus measles cases. As of late January, more than 500 people were in quarantine and hundreds infected in the state.
Measles infection counts skyrocketed last year with 2,285 confirmed cases, the most reported since 1991. This comes despite the virus being marked as being “eliminated” in the U.S. — a designation meaning it is no longer constantly circulating — in 2000. The U.S. is in danger of losing that status following a year of continuous spread of the disease.
Three people, including two young girls, died in the U.S. from measles last year.
The major outbreaks last year began with West Texas in February. In October, a measles outbreak occurred along the Utah and Arizona border. In all, the CDC recorded 49 measles outbreaks in 2025, up from 16 in 2024.
Childhood vaccination rates have been backsliding, leaving communities vulnerable to this deadly disease.
The measles vaccine was introduced in 1963, marking a turning point for the contagious disease, which used to infect hundreds of thousands and kill thousands in the country every year.
CORRECTION (Feb. 20, 2026, 3:57 p.m. ET): A previous version of a graphic in this article miscalculated the relative size of this year's measles case count. As of Feb. 20, this year's case count is four times the size of 2025's at the same point in the year, and 25 times the size of 2024's at the same point, not seven times and 30 times higher.
