Measles Is On The Rise:

Understanding Measles: Risks, Spread, and Impact

Measles is one of the most contagious infectious Diseases. One person infected with measles can transmit the virus to 12-18 unvaccinated people. Driven by decreasing vaccination rates, cases are on the rise globally.

Measles is expected to become endemic again in the U.S. as well as other developed countries.

1,333

cases reported as of May, 2025

active outbreaks across 39 states

>35K

cases in Europe in 2024

A Growing
Concern

Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known to humans. While it is preventable through routine vaccination, current vaccination trends will result in measles becoming endemic again in the USA and other developed countries (it is already endemic in many developing countries)

According to an estimate, 1 million cases over the next two decades, rising to 10 million if vaccination rates decrease an additional 10%

Kindergarten vaccinations are declining and may soon reach 90% (or lower).

Image Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The U.S. is now experiencing its highest number of measles cases in over 30 years, with nearly 1300 confirmed cases reported across nearly 40 states in 2025 alone.

(Global Virus Network July 2025)

In Canada, the measles outbreak has surpassed that of the US.

Measles is not benign and can cause severe complications in children and adults

Severe complications include pneumonia, brain swelling, and death.

Many cannot receive the vaccine:

Immunocompromised individuals
Pregnant women
Newborns 12 months or less of age

5% of vaccinees do not respond to the vaccine.

Complications:

1 to 5

unvaccinated people in the U.S. who get measles is hospitalized.

1 in 20

About 1 child out of every 1,000 who get measles will develop encephalitis (swelling of the brain). This can lead to convulsions and leave the child deaf or with intellectual disability.

1 in 20

children with measles gets pneumonia, the most common cause of death from measles in young children.

1-3 in 1k

Nearly 1 to 3 of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles will die from respiratory and neurologic complications.

Complications during pregnancy.
If you are pregnant and have not had the MMR vaccine, measles may cause premature birth or have a low-birth-weight baby.

Sources:

1. Lancet Infectious Diseases: The basic reproduction number (R0) of measles: a systematic review

2. NBC News: Childhood vaccine exemption rates hit a record high, CDC data shows (07/31/2025)

3. JJAMA: U.S. Measles Cases Hit 25-Year High (08/26/2025)

4, Contagion Live: As US Measles Cases Rise to 88 the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Reports Over 35,000 Infections in 2024 (04/25/2025)

5. JAMA: Trends in County-Level MMR Vaccination Coverage in Children in the U.S. (06/02/2025)

6. NY Times: Childhood Vaccination Rates Have Dropped Again, CDC Data Show (07/31/2025)

7. CDC: Measles Symptoms and Complications

8. FDA: MMR II, Highlights of Prescribing Information

9. Merck: MMR II Website, Efficacy Section

10. CDC: Measles Symptoms and Complications