NBC News An outbreak in West Texas that spread to several other states drove the case counts up substantially. Measles cases in the United States are the highest they’ve been since the country eliminated the disease in 2000. The U.S. has reported 1,277 cases since the start of the year, according to NBC News’ tally of state health department data.
Earlier this year, the U.S. also recorded its first measles deaths in a decade: two children in Texas and an adult in New Mexico. All were unvaccinated.