CDC reports six measles deaths in 2026 as US battles worst outbreak in 35 years

Figures highlight spread of virus, officially declared eliminated in US in 2000, but CDC does not identify which states accounted for deaths

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported six measles-related deaths in the US this year, according to figures published on its website on Thursday, as the country faces its most severe resurgence of the disease in decades.

The newly reported total is twice the number of deaths recorded in 2025, highlighting the spread of the highly infectious virus, which was officially declared eliminated in the US in 2000.

The country is currently experiencing its largest measles outbreak since 1991. More than 5,400 cases reported nationwide, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University International Vaccine Access Center tracker.

Pennsylvania has been the state most severely affected by the outbreak, with officials confirming six measles-associated deaths in the state this year. A child also died in New York on election day, followed days later by the death of an infant in Wisconsin. Active outbreaks have been reported in nearly every US state.

The Wisconsin department of health services confirmed the infant’s death, while New York recorded its first known measles-related fatality in more than three decades.

The CDC did not identify which states accounted for the six deaths included in its official count.

The difference in the reported figures followed a change in how the CDC, operating under US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, tracks measles fatalities. The CDC is now using data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which is a way to track mortality trends over time, according to a note published to the agency’s website on 4 September.

Kennedy previously argued without evidence that two of the deaths in Pennsylvania may not be from measles. He asked Erica Schwartz, the CDC’s director, not to count the deaths in the official CDC tally, according to reporting by Reuters. The day after the Reuters report was published, the CDC changed its data source on measles deaths.

Measles is preventable through the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which offers approximately 97% protection after two doses.

The US could lose its measles elimination status this week, a development likely to further define Kennedy ’s legacy of interference in vaccine policies. Losing that designation would place the US alongside Canada and several countries in Europe and Asia where measles had previously been eliminated before making a comeback.