WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – It is an alarming development: The number of measles infections in the USA has risen to 982 since the beginning of the year, according to information from the US health authority CDC. A total of 2,281 cases were reported nationwide for the entire year in 2025 – the highest level in decades.
Of the cases counted since the beginning of the year, 94 percent of those affected were either not vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. The US state of South Carolina is most affected, with 632 reported infections.
Several countries that had defeated measles according to the WHO have lost the WHO measles-free status after large outbreaks, including Spain, Great Britain and Austria. Germany was not considered measles-free.
In 2000, the disease was actually considered defeated in the USA, but after that there were sporadic smaller outbreaks. The USA could also lose its WHO measles-free status.
Health Minister sows doubts about vaccinations
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a vaccination rate of 95 percent for two vaccinations. According to the CDC, vaccination rates in kindergartens have not been met since 2019 and have fallen every year since.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appointed by US President Donald Trump, had long expressed doubts about the usefulness of vaccinations against measles before, in view of the development, he named vaccination as the most effective method of containing the spread.
Highly contagious virus
Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases and can be life-threatening in extreme cases. According to WHO information, on average one infected person infects up to 18 unvaccinated people. Measles can have serious consequences, such as inflammation of the brain with damage to nerve cells, and the disease can be fatal./nak/DP/zb