As measles cases mount in the US, what’s the situation worldwide?
 [February 27, 2025]
BANGKOK (AP) — The U.S. registered its first death from measles since
2015 this week, as a child who wasn’t vaccinated died in a measles
outbreak in rural West Texas.
Normally, most U.S. cases are brought into the country by people who
have traveled overseas. So far, Texas state officials have reported 124
cases. New Mexico has reported nine.
Experts point to declining measles vaccination rates worldwide since the
COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, most states now are below the
95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to
protect communities against measles outbreaks.
Britain reported 2,911 confirmed measles cases in 2024, the highest
number of cases recorded annually, since 2012.
Measles cases in the United States last year were nearly double the
total for all of 2023, raising concerns about the preventable,
once-common childhood virus. Health officials confirmed measles cases in
at least 18 states in 2024, including in New York City, Philadelphia and
Chicago.
"Measles anywhere is a threat everywhere," the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control say on their website.
Here's a brief look at the global measles situation.
Are measles outbreaks common outside the U.S?
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 10.3 million
people were infected with measles and 107,500 died. Most were
unvaccinated people or children younger than five. Cases were most
common in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia where incomes are
low and health services insufficient.
In 2023, an estimated 10.3 million people were infected with measles.
In places where measles have largely been eradicated, cases have been
spread by travelers from other countries.
While measles-related deaths declined slightly in 2023, the number of
outbreaks increased. Major outbreaks were seen in 57 countries in 2023,
including India and Indonesia, Russia, Yemen and Iraq. The largest
number of cases in 2023 was 311,500 in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo.
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A sign is seen outside of Seminole Hospital District offering
measles testing, Feb. 21, 2025, in Seminole, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio
Cortez), File)
 What is the impact of
vaccinations?
The worldwide rate of childhood vaccinations has fallen in recent
years, to 83% in 2023 from 86% in 2019, partly due to disruptions in
immunization and health care due to the pandemic.
The WHO estimates that vaccination helped to prevent more than 60
million deaths worldwide between 2000 and 2023, as efforts to get
the shots to more people ramped up. In 2000, 800,062 people are
estimated to have died of measles. Before the vaccine was introduced
in 1963, major epidemics caused about 2.6 million deaths a year.
Measles is so highly infectious that 95% immunity is required to
prevent epidemics, the WHO says. Put another way, it infects about 9
of 10 people exposed if they lack immunity.
What international efforts are underway to prevent epidemics?
The WHO and others are backing an effort called “Immunization Agenda
2021-2030,” to push for elimination of measles.
Independent experts declared the Americas free of endemic measles in
2016 but that status was lost in 2018 due to measles outbreaks in
Brazil and Venezuela. Reduced vaccination rates are undermining
efforts to fully eradicate the disease, experts say.
Global health organizations and other groups have increased their
efforts to speed up immunization programs and close the gaps in
prevention.
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