As of May 29, 2025, the CDC confirmed a total of 1,088 measles cases were reported by 33 jurisdictions: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
There have been 14 outbreaks** reported in 2025, and 90% of confirmed cases (977 of 1,088) are outbreak-associated. For comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during 2024 and 69% of cases (198 of 285) were outbreak-associated.
What to Know About Measles:
Measles is an airborne, extremely infectious, and potentially severe rash illness. Measles is not a seasonal virus. However, measles is often spread over times of high travel (like spring break) or in situations where unvaccinated persons are in close quarters (like summer camp).
Signs and Symptoms:
Measles symptoms appear 7 to 14 days after contact with the virus. Measles typically begins with:
- High fever (may spike to more than 104°)
- Cough
- Runny nose (coryza)
- Red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis)
3–5 days after symptoms begin:
- Measles rash appears 3 to 5 days after the first symptoms. It usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline. They then spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet.
- Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots.
- The spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the rest of the body.
- When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104° Fahrenheit.
How to Protect Against the Measles:
The best way to protect against measles is to get two doses of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Children may get two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine instead, which protects against chickenpox too.
Most people who are vaccinated with MMR & MMRV will be protected for life. Vaccines and high rates of vaccination have made these diseases much less common in the United States.
Visit https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html to see a breakdown of measles cases, state by state.
Source: CDC
