The Club PUBlication 11/24/2025

CDC links measles outbreaks across U.S. states
Country’s elimination status threatened by sustained transmission.
By APOORVA MANDAVILLI and TEDDY ROSENBLUTH The New York Times

Health officials l inked for the first time the measles outbreak that began in Texas with another in Utah and Arizona, a finding that could end the United States' status as a nation that has eliminated measles.
The news came in a phone call Monday, a recording of which was obtained by the New York Times, among officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments.

The chain of transmission began in January, in a conservative Mennonite group on the western edge of Texas, and spread to Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Countries lose their elimination status after 12 months of sustained transmission. If the outbreak cannot be extinguished by January, the anniversary of the first cases in Texas, the United States will lose what is known as "elimination status" as determined by the World Health Organization, which it has had for 25 years.

"I wouldn't call the code yet, but I think the patient's not looking real good," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

Canada lost its status last week, ending a 27-year run, after failing to control an outbreak that began at a Mennonite gathering in October 2024.

Losing elimination status may not lead to tangible changes, such as travel restrictions.

But experts have called the possibility "deeply embarrassing" for a wealthy country with the medical resources of the United States.

"CDC and state and local health agencies continue to work together to assess transmission patterns and ensure an effective public health response — which is what led to the Texas outbreak being declared over," Andrew Nixon, a representative from the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote in a statement.

This month, the CDC presented its outbreak information to the Pan American Health Organization.

As of Nov. 13, the CDC had confirmed 1,723 measles cases nationwide, 87% of which were associated with a record 45 outbreaks this year. By contrast, 16 outbreaks were reported in 2024.

About 92% of the reported cases this year are among people who are either unvaccinated or of unknown vaccination status.

Another large outbreak in two schools in South Carolina is close to being contained.

Rockland County, N.Y., has four reported cases, the first since a massive outbreak in 2018 that lasted 10 months.

That outbreak raced through Orthodox Jewish communities, some of which had vaccination rates below 70%.

“I wouldn’t call the code yet, but I think the patient’s not looking real good.”
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Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota