US loses measles elimination status as cases surge: WSJ

Résumé détaillé

US loses measles elimination status as cases surge, with Utah and Pennsylvania outbreaks driving record infections and deaths. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The CDC has confirmed 5,412 measles cases so far in 2026, more than double the total in 2025.

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.

Pennsylvania has seen the largest outbreak in the US in 2026, recording more than 1,500 cases since it began in…

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