The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its latest weekly update today reported 105 more measles cases, pushing the national total to 712, which is more than double the cases reported for all of 2024.
Seven outbreaks have been reported across the country, and 93% of the cases reported so far are part of outbreaks. Infections have been reported from 25 jurisdictions, 3 more than last week. Among the sick patients, 97% were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status.
Much of the activity reflects new cases from the main hot spot in west Texas, but infections continue to rise in other states, such as Ohio, as the virus crops up in new ones, such as Arkansas.
Totals rise in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma
The Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) today reported 36 more cases, putting the state's total at 541 since late January. More than half are in Gaines County, where the outbreak began, but 22 counties are affected, of which 10 are considered part of the outbreak area.
All but 11 patients were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. So far, 56 patients have been hospitalized, and the number of deaths remains at 2.
Three cases have now been reported in El Paso County, at the westernmost tip of Texas. Two of those cases involve unvaccinated children, one of them who was treated at a military clinic at Fort Bliss, according to a local media report that cited the city's health department and William Beaumont Army Medical Center.
New Mexico, which has cases related to the West Texas outbreak, reported 2 new cases today, pushing the state's total to 58. All are from three counties that border Texas.
Some measles activity in Kansas and Oklahoma has been linked to the Texas outbreak, and Kansas this week reported 6 more cases, pushing its total to 32 infections in eight counties, all located near each other in the southwestern corner of the state, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) today reported 2 more cases, raising the state's total to 12. In its latest exposure update, the OSDH cited locations in Oklahoma City, including an Aldi grocery store and a children's hospital.
Arkansas reports first cases; more in Ohio, Pennsylvania
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) yesterday reported its first measles case since 2018, which involves an unvaccinated child from Saline County who had traveled out of state.
Shortly after, the ADH reported the state's second case, in an unvaccinated child from Faulkner County who had also traveled out of state.
Elsewhere, Ohio confirmed 10 more measles cases, bringing its total to 20, mostly in Ashtabula and Knox counties, according to a dashboard from the Ohio Department of Health. All but 4 are considered locally acquired.
One of the new patients is in Holmes County, an adult whose exposure to the virus is under investigation, according to the Holmes County General Health District.
In Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Department of Health yesterday reported a measles infection in a person who had traveled abroad and may have exposed people at two hospital emergency departments.
