US loses measles elimination status as cases surge: WSJ

The US has lost its long-standing status as having eradicated measles after transmission of the disease has continued through the past year and broken case records, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.The report followed a review of the evidence by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which verifies nations’ elimination status. PAHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were not immediately available to comment after normal business hours on Nov 13.PAHO evaluates whether a single strain of measles virus has been circulating in a community for 12 months. Utah’s outbreak – which has infected more than 700 people – met the criteria and cost the US its status. While the loss of the status is just a label, it does represent a national failure to control the highly contagious disease. It’s also likely to prompt warnings about travel to the US and vaccine advisories from other nations.Canada lost its status a year ago. To regain it, the countries must prove continuous transmission has stopped and that surveillance systems to track the disease have been strengthened. The US officially eliminated measles in 2000 following a public communications push. But vaccination rates declined as the pandemic increased distrust in federal health guidance, creating an opportunity for the virus to take hold again. The CDC has confirmed 5,412 cases so far in 2026, more than double the total in 2025 and the highest number recorded since 1991. Under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC has been upended by staff departures and leadership changes. About a third of the career staff were forced out or voluntarily left following cuts from Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The public health agency has also been overwhelmed with responding to other outbreaks, including Ebola and cyclosporiasis. In August, CDC Director Erica Schwartz became the agency’s first permanent director in almost a year. Continuous spreadPennsylvania has seen the largest outbreak in the US in 2026, recording more than 1,500 cases since it began in April and reporting its seventh measles-related death on Nov 13. A total of nine people in the US have died from measles so far this year – three times the toll in 2025. The CDC has only recognized six of these deaths following a feud with Pennsylvania over how they were classified.But it was Utah’s cases that led to the loss of elimination status. The state’s outbreak began in June 2025 and has continued to grow. Its public health experts say the virus has likely infected more people than what’s been recorded by local health departments. Only 87.2% of Utah kindergartners were inoculated with the MMR vaccine in the 2025-2026 school year, according to the CDC. Kennedy, who previously led an anti-vaccine organization and said getting the measles, mumps and rubella shot should be a “personal choice,” has upended US inoculation policy alongside President Donald Trump. Trump issued an executive order earlier this year directing HHS to produce a report on how to split up the MMR vaccine into separate components, which could make it more time-consuming for Americans to get all three. It would also mean complicated and expensive retoolings for manufacturers Merck & Co. and GSK Plc. While no vaccine is perfect, the MMR vaccine is 97% effective in preventing disease after two doses, according to the CDC. Measles is highly contagious, infecting up to 90% of unvaccinated people exposed to the disease. People experience flu-like symptoms and a red rash all over the body, sometimes leading to complications including encephalitis, pneumonia and even death. BLOOMBERG