Spanish
Los Angeles (USA).- United States has recorded 1,288 cases of measles so far in 2025, which is the highest number of infections in the country in 33 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published this Wednesday.
The infections have been reported in 39 jurisdictions, 13% of the cases have required hospitalizations (162 of 1,288) and three people have died due to this disease.
As a comparison, during 2024, 16 outbreaks were reported and 69% of the cases (198 out of 285) were associated with them, with Texas being the most affected state. The number of cases so far in 2025 already exceeds the total number of infections in 2019, when the year ended with 1,274 infections; at that time, the figure was the highest in 25 years. The number of infections only surpassed by that of 1992 when 2,126 cases were reported has generated concern about the setback it signifies. Measles was officially eradicated in the United States in 2000, which means it does not spread within the country and new cases are only detected when someone contracts measles abroad and returns to the country.The CDC emphasized that so far this year, 27 measles outbreaks have been reported, generating 88% of the total confirmed cases (1,130 out of 1,288).
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The eradication of measles in the United States was "a historic achievement" of public health and demonstrated how vaccination policy facilitated its elimination, highlight the CDC. The state of Texas has reported the highest number of infections with more than 750 cases and the death of two children, due to measles. The U.S. Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for his anti-vaccine stance, said last May that U.S. health agencies have handled the current measles outbreaks in the country as well as or better than other nations.
