Pennsylvania measles outbreak passes 1,000 cases in worst year for US since 1991

By
FOX Local
Published October 5, 2026 8:05 PM MST

Paramyxovirus measles virus, and virions of the polyomavirus, simian virus SV40, revealed in the photomicrograph film, 1981. Image courtesy Centers for Disease Control (CDC) / Dr Erskine Palmer. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

The Brief

    • Health officials in Pennsylvania have recorded 1,004 measles cases since an outbreak began in April.
    • Five people have died in connection with the outbreak and nearly 200 hospitalizations have been reported.
    • Nearly 3,900 measles cases have been reported across the United States, the most since 1991.

A measles outbreak in Pennsylvania has become the largest one experienced by a state in more than three decades as the number of reported cases crosses into four-digit territory.

Local perspective:

Pennsylvania health officials have recorded 1,004 cases since April, when the outbreak began west of Philadelphia. They also indicated that nearly 200 hospitalizations have occurred and five deaths have been reported.

By the numbers:

That number of cases pushes Pennsylvania’s total past other states where large outbreaks have occurred this year, including Texas and South Carolina, where an outbreak resulted in 997 cases.

Those major outbreaks have helped drive the overall number of cases in the United States to nearly 3,900, which is the highest total since 1991. The last time a single state recorded an outbreak as large as what is happening in Pennsylvania was in the early 1990s, when 4,500 cases were reported in New York City over the course of multiple years. 

RELATED: Recall issued for over 122,000 cases of Gatorade sold in 37 states due to undeclared food colorings

Big picture view:

Health officials are blaming the outbreaks on low vaccination rates. Vaccinations were credited with helping the U.S. eliminate the domestic spread of measles in 2000. Since then, however, the vaccination rate has fallen below the 95% coverage considered necessary to keep outbreaks from happening. 

Now, international health officials plan to meet next month to decide whether the U.S. and Mexico should still be considered measles-free.

Dig deeper:

Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible and exposed to the virus will get it. The virus can spread when people who have it breathe, cough, or sneeze, or it can be transferred on contaminated surfaces.

The Source: Information for this article was taken from the Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.

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