# US loses measles-elimination status after 26 years, WSJ reports

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/us-loses-measles-elimination-status-after-26-years-wsj-reports/
- Published: 2026-11-14T09:15:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-14T10:28:13+00:00
- Original publisher: DW (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.dw.com/en/us-loses-measles-elimination-status-after-26-years-wsj-reports/a-79946974?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
- Topics: Americas, World

## Key points

- The US has lost measles-elimination status after 26 years.
- Continuous transmission lasted at least 12 months.
- This year’s 5,182 cases are more than double 2025’s total.

## Summary

The Pan American Health Organization has removed the United States’ measles-elimination status after 26 years, following evidence that a measles strain spread continuously in the country for at least 12 months. The decision reflects sustained local transmission rather than cases brought in from abroad, and comes as the US records its worst outbreaks in more than three decades.

The CDC reported 5,182 confirmed cases this year, more than twice the 2,289 recorded in 2025. Since 2025, about 7,500 people have been infected and 13 have died; nearly all this year’s cases involved people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown, and roughly one in nine patients was hospitalised. A country must stop transmission and remain outbreak-free for at least 12 months to regain the status.

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