The U.S. has officially logged 982 measles cases in 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. It’s more than four times the number of cases as this time last year, when a large outbreak was just beginning in West Texas. [NBC News]
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Twenty-six states have reported cases so far this year. Large outbreaks continue to grow in Utah, Arizona and, most notably, South Carolina, where the virus has been spreading since the fall. As of Friday, the state had reported nearly 800 cases since January, bringing the outbreak’s total to 973.
It’s the largest single measles outbreak the U.S. has seen in a generation. South Carolina state epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said that at least 20 people had been hospitalized.
“These hospitalizations involve both adults and children,” Bell said during a call with reporters on Wednesday. “Additional cases required medical care for measles but were not hospitalized.”
A mobile health clinic offering free measles vaccinations in Spartanburg, S.C., earlier this month. The state has the largest single measles outbreak the U.S. has seen in a generation.
According to the CDC, more than 1 in 10 measles cases in 2025 resulted in hospitalization. Most of those were children and teenagers.
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