Measles, one of the most contagious viruses in the world, is regularly infecting people in the U.S. again.
Already in 2026 more than 2,300 cases have been counted, making 2026 the two year for measles infections in the U.S. since 2000.
NBC News is continuing to track confirmed measles cases across the United States, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Measles case counts reached a 34-year high last year, and seven months into 2026, this year’s total is even higher.
The disease epicenter at the start of the year was 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. State officials declared the South Carolina outbreak over in April.
The map below will be updated regularly to show year-to-date new measles case counts reported in each state and Washington, D.C.
Measles infection counts skyrocketed last year with 2,289 confirmed cases, which had been 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 48 measles outbreaks in 2025, up from 16 in 2024. So far in 2026, 35 measles outbreaks have been reported.
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.
