November 13, 2026 — Confirmed measles cases in the United States have climbed to 5,412 as of November 12, marking an increase of 230 cases over the past week, according to the latest surveillance data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The surge underscores the nation’s most severe resurgence of the preventable viral infection since 1991.
Public health officials report that the vast majority of infections are tied to ongoing community transmission. Key findings from the CDC and state health agencies include:
Outbreak Concentration: The federal agency has recorded 43 new outbreaks in 2026. Roughly 96% of all confirmed cases (5,216 of 5,412) are outbreak-associated—comprising 3,831 cases linked to outbreaks that began this year and 1,385 tied to outbreaks carrying over from 2025. An additional 18 cases were reported among international visitors to the U.S.
Hospitalizations and Fatalities: Nationally, 591 people have been hospitalized with measles-related complications so far in 2026. The CDC has officially confirmed six measles-associated deaths this year, though it has not disclosed the specific states in which they occurred.
State-Level Impact: Pennsylvania remains one of the hardest-hit states; its state health department reported 1,505 cases, 290 hospitalizations, and six measles-related deaths as of November 9.
With U.S. case counts crossing the 5,000 threshold for the first time in three and a half decades, the country's long-standing public health milestone is in jeopardy. An expert commission from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is meeting this week and is expected to announce in the coming days whether the United States will lose the "measles elimination" status it has held since 2000.
Medical experts have voiced sharp concern over the preventable toll of the outbreak. "The fact that there have been six deaths amidst an outbreak that has affected over 5,000 Americans for an entirely preventable disease is a travesty of our public health system," said Dr. Thomas Lew, assistant clinical professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
