US Loses Measles Elimination Status as Cases Surge, WSJ Says

The United States has lost its designation as a measles-eliminated country after a surge in cases throughout the previous year, surpassing previous records, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing anonymous sources. This determination was made by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which evaluates whether a specific strain of the measles virus has been circulating in a region for 12 months.

Utah experienced the most significant outbreak in the nation, with over 700 individuals infected, leading to the loss of the US's measles elimination status. While losing this status is merely a title, it signifies a national failure to control the highly contagious disease. This setback could result in travel warnings to the US and vaccine advisories from other nations.

Canada previously lost its measles elimination status a year ago. To regain it, a country must prove continuous transmission has ceased and that surveillance systems to track the disease have been improved. The US officially eliminated measles in 2000 following a public awareness campaign, but vaccination rates declined when the pandemic eroded trust in federal health guidance, providing an opportunity for the virus to resurface.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recorded 5,412 cases so far in 2026, a sharp increase from last year's total and the highest number since 1991. The CDC's leadership has been unstable under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with a third of career staff leaving under his tenure. The agency has been overwhelmed with responding to other outbreaks, including Ebola and cyclosporiasis.

Pennsylvania has the largest outbreak in the US this year, with more than 1,500 cases since April and the seventh measles-related death reported on Friday. Nine people in the US have died from measles so far this year, three times the number of deaths in 2025. The CDC has only confirmed six of these deaths following a dispute with Pennsylvania over classification.

Utah's outbreak began in June 2025 and has continued to grow. Only 87.2% of Utah kindergartners were vaccinated with the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine in the 2025-2026 school year, according to the CDC. The Trump administration has altered US inoculation policy, including an executive order directing HHS to create a report on splitting the MMR vaccine into separate components, potentially complicating and increasing costs for vaccine manufacturers.

Measles is highly contagious, infecting up to 90% of unvaccinated individuals exposed to the disease and can lead to complications such as encephalitis, pneumonia, and even death.