There are more states competing measles outbreaks as the number of cases nationwide reaches the highest number in more than 30 years.
On Monday, Maryland declared a measles outbreak in three counties after confirming 14 new cases, bringing the state’s total to 31 cases in 2026.
Twenty-seven of these cases, all in people who have not been vaccinated against measles, have been confirmed in the past six weeks.
The cases have been recorded in the following counties: St. Mary’s, 13 cases, Carroll, eight, Cecil, five, and Charles, one.
“Measles is highly contagious and we are actively working with healthcare professionals and local health departments to support affected communities, respond to cases and prevent further spread,” said Maryland Secretary of Health Dr. Meena Seshamani.
‘The overall risk remains low if you are fully vaccinated. We ask that Marylanders join us in our efforts to keep our youngest safe and protect those most at risk. Checking your vaccination status and getting vaccinated if you are not up to date is the easiest and most effective way to do so.”
No public exposures have been identified among the 14 new cases in Maryland, but there is a growing outbreak Iowa Thousands may have been exposed at nearly a dozen locations across the state.
Two more cases have been confirmed in the outbreak in southern Iowa, bringing the number to 17.
Measles, which is highly contagious, is characterized by coughing, fever and a characteristic blotchy rash that starts on the face before spreading throughout the body (stock image)
And there are now nine locations where people may have been exposed to the virus, including Natural Grocer’s Clive and Menards in Clive, Iowa; Vero Health Center and Office Depot in West Des Moines, Iowa; Menards in Des Moines, Iowa; Pizza Ranch in Ottumwa, Iowa; and Wells Hometown Drug, JR Feed and Supply and Sunnyside Grocery, in Bloomfield, Iowa.
The outbreaks come just like the The first deaths of 2026 from measles were reported on Tuesday.
Officials reported that the two deaths occurred in unvaccinated patients in Pennsylvania. These are the first measles deaths in the state in 35 years.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed that both individuals were residents of Lancaster County, about 60 miles outside of Philadelphia. No additional details were provided about the victims.
“My deepest condolences go out to the loved ones facing this unimaginable loss,” Dr. Debra Bogen, the state secretary of health, said in a statement.
‘Because measles has been largely eradicated from the Commonwealth for over 30 years, people are unfamiliar with this disease and do not fully understand the potential seriousness of the disease.’
Pennsylvania has recorded 393 cases of measles in 28 counties so far in 2026. Nationwide, cases have reached their highest point in more than three decades.
As of August 20, the CDC has recorded 2,777 confirmed cases of measles. This is the most cases since 1991, when there were 9,643 cases.
Last year, there were 2,289 cases and three deaths, according to the CDC.
The vast majority of cases in both 2025 and 2026 occurred in individuals who did not receive both doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
The injection is usually given once between the ages of 12 and 15 months and again between the ages of four and six years. According to the CDC, two doses reduce the risk of measles infection by 97 percent.
In unvaccinated people, nine in 10 of those exposed to the virus will become infected.
“We want to ensure that every Pennsylvanian has the information he or she needs to protect themselves, their loved ones and their community,” Bogen said.
“As a doctor, I want to make sure people understand that the MMR vaccine is safe and provides the best protection we have against measles.”
Measles, which is highly contagious, is characterized by coughing, fever, a characteristic patchy rash that starts on the face before spreading throughout the body, and small white spots in the mouth called Koplik spots.
The virus spreads through direct contact with infectious droplets or through the air. Patients with a measles infection are contagious from four days before the rash appears until four days after the rash appears. Enclosed areas such as airports and airplanes are extremely high-risk locations for disease transmission.
It first enters the respiratory system and then spreads to the lymph nodes and throughout the body. As a result, the virus can affect the lungs, brain and central nervous system.
Although measles sometimes causes milder symptoms, including diarrhea, sore throat and aches, it leads to pneumonia in about six percent of otherwise healthy children, and more often in malnourished children.
Although the brain swelling that can cause measles is rare (in about one in a thousand cases), it is fatal in about 15 to 20 percent of those who develop the disease, while about 20 percent suffer permanent neurological damage, such as brain damage, deafness or intellectual disability.
Measles also severely damages a child’s immune system, leaving them susceptible to other potentially devastating bacterial and viral infections that they were previously protected from.
Before MMR vaccines became available in the 1960s, measles caused epidemics with as many as 2.6 million deaths worldwide each year. By 2023, that number had dropped to about 107,000 deaths.
Nationally, 92.4 percent of preschoolers have been fully vaccinated against measles, below the CDC’s 95 percent threshold for herd immunity. In Pennsylvania, the MMR vaccination rate is 94.6, while in Maryland and Iowa the rates are 96 and 90 percent, respectively.
Exemptions also increased by 4.2 percent, an increase of 17 percent compared to 1.6 percent just over ten years ago.
