According to data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States has registered 1,288 measles cases this year, the highest number in 33 years, CBS reports.  

Just over halfway through 2025, the United States has eclipsed the total number of illnesses in 2019, when 1,274 measles cases were confirmed, the most in more than a quarter century. 

This is the worst year for measles in the United States since 1992, when 2,126 cases were reported. The virus was officially declared eradicated in the United States in 2000, after widespread immunization prevented practically all domestic spread.

The majority of this year's cases are linked to an epidemic in West Texas that resulted in the deaths of two youths. The number of cases in Texas alone has exceeded 750. Measles has been confirmed in 38 states.

So far this year, the US has documented 1,288 instances.

CBS News recently released an in-depth mapping of recorded measles cases in 2025, showcasing a significant spike in the number of instances in recent months. 

The CDC told CBS News that the risk of measles infection is minimal for the general population, adding that the case rate in the United States is lower than in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy.

"Measles risk is higher in U.S. communities with low vaccination rates in areas with active measles outbreaks or with close social and/or geographic linkages to areas with active measles outbreaks," the statement said. "CDC continues to recommend MMR vaccines as the best way to protect against measles."

The measles virus, which is airborne, is one of the most contagious infectious illnesses, according to the CDC. A person might be infectious for many days before developing the rash that is common with measles. The virus spreads through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, speaks, or just breathes, and it can infect others in the vicinity for up to two hours after the infected person departs.

The CDC states that measles is predominantly a respiratory virus. Still, in extreme cases, it can cause serious infections in the lungs and brain, resulting in cognitive difficulties, deafness, or death. However, the organization explains that physicians and health experts believe the vaccination, which is often administered as part of the combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, is both safe and extremely effective in preventing it.

Before the first measles vaccine became available in the 1960s, measles killed between 400 and 500 Americans each year, the majority of them children.