2 days Ago By Jack Phillips
Measles cases have risen across the United States, with cases reported in 19 states in 2025, according to data posted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday.
At least 483 cases have been confirmed in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington, according to the CDC update. There were 285 cases reported in all of 2024, it noted. A majority of the cases have occurred in Texas and New Mexico amid an ongoing outbreak that started earlier this year.
Elsewhere, a cluster of cases was reported in Ohio this week, state health officials said. The Ohio Department of Health said in a statement on March 26 that 10 measles cases were confirmed in Ashtabula and Knox counties in recent days. “Given the measles activity in Texas, New Mexico, and other states around the country, we’re disappointed but not surprised we now have several cases here in Ohio and known exposure in some counties,” state Director of Health Bruce Vanderhoff said in a statement.
Authorities in Kansas also confirmed a cluster that has grown to 23 cases across Grant, Gray, Haskell, Kiowa, Morton, and Stevens counties. Most of the cases occurred in children aged 17 and younger, it said, with two of the cases occurring in adults aged 18 or older. On Friday, the Texas Department of Health said that 400 cases of measles have been confirmed in the state’s Panhandle and South Plains regions since January.
Of that figure, 41 have been hospitalized, with one death confirmed. “Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities,” officials said, adding that state health authorities are still working to investigate the outbreak’s origins. “With spring and summer travel season approaching in the United States, CDC emphasizes the important role that clinicians and public health officials play in preventing the spread of measles through vaccination,” the agency said in the statement.
“They should be vigilant for cases of febrile rash illness that meet the measles case definition, particularly in unvaccinated persons, and share effective measles prevention strategies, including vaccination guidance for international travelers.” Symptoms of measles can appear seven to 14 days after contact with the virus. Symptoms include a fever as high as 105 degrees Fahrenheit, malaise, cough, and conjunctivitis.
Small white lesions known as Koplik spots may appear on the inner lining of the mouth two to three days after symptoms begin. Three to five days after symptoms begin, the characteristic measles rash appears, according to the CDC. The rash usually begins as flat red spots on the face at the hairline, and spreads downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet.
.
