Measles Outbreak Grows to 5 States

The measles outbreak in the US continues to grow in the US and the CDC says there are now 483 confirmed cases across 20 jurisdictions. There are now 5 outbreaks that include Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas and Ohio. CDC writes on its site that of these confirmed cases, 93%(447 of 483) of them are outbreak-associated. For comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during 2024 and 69% of cases (198 of 285) were outbreak-associated.¹ Of these cases, 14% have been hospitalized (70 of 483).¹ In terms of the ages of the individuals hospitalized, here is the breakdown:

• Under 5 years: 25% (40 of 157)
• 5-19 years: 9% (18 of 204)
• 20+ years: 10% (11 of 111)
• Age unknown: 9% (1 of 11)¹

The vaccine status for individuals who contracted measles is the following:

• Unvaccinated or Unknown: 97%
• 1 MMR dose: 1%
• 2 MMR doses: 2%¹

Here is an update on the 5 states with outbreaks:

Texas: As of April 1, there are 422 cases in the state with 42 hospitalizations. Of the cases, 414 of them are in the unvaccinated/unknown category.² This outbreak is still increasing with 95 new cases since last week.

New Mexico: As of April 1, there are 48 confirmed cases in the state, with 2 hospitalizations.³ There has been a slight increase with 5 new cases in the outbreak since last week.

Oklahoma: As of April 1, there are 10 cases with zero hospitalizations. All 10 cases were considered in the unvaccinated/unknown category. ⁴ There has been a slight increase with 1 new case in the outbreak since last week.

Kansas: As of April 2, there are 24 cases with zero hospitalizations.⁵ This outbreak is still increasing with 14 new cases since last week.

Ohio: As of March 25, there are 10 cases. Nine of them are linked to an adult male reported last week as the state’s first measles case of 2025. None of the individuals were vaccinated.⁶

Related to infectious disease and public health policy, there have been reports the entire department of Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) is going to be laid off. This department is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and falls under its massive downsizing and restructuring plan that was announced last week. HHS said it was going to reduce its workforce by laying off 10,000 full-time employees, and when combined with HHS’ other efforts expect to reduce the workforce by 20,000 employees. The restructuring would result in a total downsizing from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees.

Watch this: With HHS Layoffs, What Becomes of Public Health?

References
1. Measles Cases and Outbreaks. CDC. March 28, 2025. Accessed April 2, 2025.
https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html
2.Measles Outbreak. Texas Department of State Health Services press release. April 1, 2025. Accessed April 2, 2025.
https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak
3.2025 Measles Outbreak Guidance. NMDOH. April 1, 2025. Accessed April 2, 2025.
https://www.nmhealth.org/news/alert/2025/2/?view=2177
4.Measles. Oklahoma State Department of Health. April 1, 2025. Accessed April 2, 2025.
https://oklahoma.gov/health/health-education/acute-disease-service/rash-illness/measles.html
5.Measles data. Kansas Department of Health and Environment. April 2, 2025. Accessed April 2, 2025.https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/2314/Measles-Data
6. Health Director Urges Parents to Ensure Children Are Vaccinated Against Measles as ODH Confirms Outbreak in Ohio. March 25, 2025. Accessed April 2, 2025.
https://odh.ohio.gov/media-center/odh-news-releases/odh-confirms-measles-outbreak-032625