US measles cases exceed 3,000 as immunisation rates drop sharply

The United States has recorded more than 3,000 measles cases in 2026, marking the highest annual total since 1991 and significantly exceeding the 2,289 cases documented in 2025, according to health officials tracking the outbreak.

The sharp increase in confirmed cases comes as vaccination coverage has declined across multiple American states and demographic groups. Public health experts have attributed the resurgence to falling immunisation rates, which have dropped below the 95 percent threshold considered necessary to maintain community immunity against the highly contagious viral infection.

Measles, which spreads through respiratory droplets, can cause severe complications including pneumonia, encephalitis, and in rare cases, death. The disease was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, but sporadic outbreaks have occurred in recent years due to pockets of low vaccination coverage.

Health authorities are intensifying efforts to increase immunisation rates and contain the outbreak. The situation underscores growing concerns about vaccine hesitancy and its public health implications, particularly as misinformation about immunisations continues to circulate in some communities.

Malaysia, which maintains high measles vaccination coverage through its national immunisation programme, remains vigilant about imported cases at its borders and continues to monitor the situation closely.