In its weekly update yesterday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the United States has 14 more measles cases, raising the national total to 1,333 cases.
The cases have been reported in 40 jurisdictions, and 87% of confirmed cases (1,156 of 1,333) are outbreak-associated. There have been 25 outbreaks (three or more related cases) this year in the United States.
Two thirds of cases reported this year have been in people age 19 years and younger, with 382 cases in children under the age of 5 years and 491 cases in children ages 5 to 19 years. Thirty-four percent of cases (453) have occurred in adults ages 20 years and older.
So far there have been 3 confirmed measles deaths in 2025 and 169 hospitalizations. Children under 5 years account for 81 (48%) of the 169 hospitalizations.
Measles cases are now at the highest level reported in the United States since the virus was officially declared eliminated in 2000. A large outbreak centered in West Texas fueled the outbreak, and 762 cases have been confirmed in Texas since late January.
Canada's outbreak now triple the size of US outbreak
Canada has reported 4,206 cases of measles this year, more than three times as many as the United States, and doctors in Alberta are criticizing government officials for not declaring a public health emergency in the Western province. From July 13 to July 19, 230 new measles cases were reported in Canada, according to the latest official data.
Canada is now the only Western nation on the CDC's list of top 10 countries with measles, joining the ranks of Yemen, Pakistan, and India, which lead the list. Canada has had the ninth most cases in the world so far this year, just ahead of Russia
While case counts have slowed in Ontario, activity is increasing in Alberta, which has lower vaccination rates than other provinces, and more residents who eschew vaccines.
Schools in Alberta do not have mandatory immunization requirements for school enrollment, and the province was a hotbed of protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Only 70% of children are fully vaccinated with two doses of measles-containing vaccine in the province.
We have more cases in a population of five million than the United States has in a population of 340 million
"Our performance is so bad that we have more cases in a population of five million than the United States has in a population of 340 million," said James Talbot, MD, a former chief medical officer of health in Alberta, in the New York Times.
Alberta has approximately 1,500 measles cases as of July 19. Alberta health officials told the Times that they had not seen a major increase in measles-related hospitalizations, and noted the province was expanding vaccine clinics.
