MedPageToday There are already “more than half the number of cases seen in all of 2025,” one pediatrician said. U.S. measles cases have topped 1,000 just 2 months into 2026, and outbreaks persist in a number of states, namely South Carolina and Arizona/Utah.
“It is very concerning to see more than 1,000 cases in the U.S. this early in the year,” Martha Edwards, MD, president of the South Carolina Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told MedPage Today. “Already, we have more than half the number of cases seen in all of 2025, and the number of cases in 2025 was one of the highest annual case counts seen in decades.” “As people continue to believe inaccurate information about vaccines, and as non-medical exemption rates continue to rise throughout the country, we can expect case counts to continue to rise, threatening children and immunocompromised individuals with a disease that was nearly eliminated in our country through vaccination,” she added.
To date, South Carolina alone has nearly 1,000 cases in its ongoing outbreak that began last October, which has largely occurred in Spartanburg County.