The number of measles cases linked to an outbreak in Texas has grown to more than 300, with around 40 cases reported over the past week – most in unvaccinated individuals – while infections have spread across some 14 states. And in Canada, a separate outbreak has prompted the World Health Organisation to warn that the Americas’ “elimination status” was at risk.
Health officials in Europe and Asia have also warned of an alarming increase in measles cases, amid gaps in immunisation coverage, reports CBS.
“Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call,” Dr Hans Henri Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, said in a statement.
“Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security. We cannot afford to lose ground. Every country must step up efforts to reach under-vaccinated communities.”
In the United States, just two cases have occurred in people who had been vaccinated with two doses, reports ABC News. Breakthrough infections, when a vaccinated person is infected are rare, as the measles vaccine provides up to 97% protection after two doses.
At least 34 people have been admitted to hospital, and two deaths recorded.
In the Texas outbreak, children and teenagers between aged five to 17 make up the majority of cases, with 115, followed by children four under comprising 86 cases.
The first reported death in the country was an unvaccinated schoolchild in Texas, the first measles death recorded in the US in a decade, while the second probable measles death was after an unvaccinated New Mexico resident tested positive for the virus.
Gaines County is the epicentre of the Texas outbreak, with 174 cases confirmed among residents. State health data shows the number of vaccine exemptions in Gaines County has grown dramatically in the past dozen years.
In 2013, roughly 7.5% of kindergartners in the county had parents or guardians who filed for an exemption for at least one vaccine. Ten years later, that number rose to more than 17.5% – one of the highest across Texas.
The US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has confirmed 301 cases in at least 14 states so far this year, including Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington – more cases than the whole of last year, which saw 285 cases nationwide.
Most are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. Of those cases, 3% are among those who received just one dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) inoculation and 2% are among those who received the required two doses.
Spike alarms France
In mainland France, meanwhile, growing cases have prompted the French Health Ministry to warn doctors to be “increasingly vigilant”, the agency being particularly concerned about “imported” cases from places like Morocco.
The Directorate General of Health (DGS) has urged vaccination among all ages, including healthcare professionals and those working with children, to limit viral circulation and protect the most vulnerable.
“It is one of the most contagious viruses on the planet,” François Dubos, head of the paediatric emergency department at Lille University Hospital, told RFI.
“An infected person can infect 15 to 20 people around them who are not immune.”
The virus is actively circulating in mainland France, with reports issued by seven regional health agencies (ARS) for around 100 cases.
Historic levels in Morocco
According to Public Health France (SpF), 13 cases have been brought into the country by people who have stayed in Morocco since the beginning of the year, compared with 26 cases for the whole of 2024.
Most case were in children under five and young adults, who required hospitalisation, with 11 admissions in January alone.
Morocco has been experiencing an epidemic of “historic levels”, since late 2023, having reported more than 25 000 measles cases, 6 300 confirmed cases and 120 deaths.
Authorities have scaled up vaccination in recent months in a bid to control the outbreak.
Elsewhere in Europe, Romania is experiencing the largest outbreak, but all countries have reported cases, with the number of infections on that continent having risen more than tenfold over the past year.
From early 2024 to early 2025, more than 32 000 measles cases were reported in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway – a “considerable” increase from 2023, when fewer than 2 400 cases were reported, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The agency warned that cases are likely to continue rising in the coming months because in 2024, measles peaked in the first half of the year.
“This indicates that the virus is circulating in the region and the number of cases will probably increase during the spring of 2025,” the ECDC told EuroNews.
Most cases in the past year have emerged in Romania (27 568), followed by Italy (1 097), Germany (637), Belgium (551) and Austria (542). But all countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) – the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway – have reported cases.
Eighteen people in Romania and one person in Ireland died last year from measles.
Most of the infected people – 86% – were unvaccinated, many of them children under four.
Measles is so contagious that an unvaccinated person can get sick if they enter a room where an infected person coughed or sneezed up to two hours earlier, even if they had since left.
Health authorities say at least 95% of a community must be immunised with two jabs to prevent measles outbreaks and protect vulnerable people who cannot be vaccinated, like babies. But in 2023, only four countries met that threshold: Hungary, Malta, Portugal, and Slovakia.
CBS article –U.S. records most measles cases in single year since record 2019 wave (Open access)
RFI article – Spike in measles cases has French health authorities on high alert (Open access)
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