The measles outbreak spanning Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma has grown to nearly 300 cases. This multi-state outbreak centered in West Texas, combined with cases in 13 other states, add up to more cases than the US saw all of last year. 2025 is now just the fifth year since 2000 in which the country has experienced an outbreak of over 100 cases and only the third year with an outbreak exceeding 200 cases. The most recent outbreak of this magnitude happened in 2019, when an outbreak in New York City brought the US to the brink of losing its measles elimination status.
The ongoing Texas-New Mexico-Oklahoma outbreak has hospitalized 36 patients. Most people who have become sick are minors: 91 cases are kids between 0 to 4 years old and 125 cases are 5 to 17 years old. Of the 296 cases, all but 4 are people who have not received the MMR vaccine or who people who do not know their vaccination status.
