Background

Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 following decades of robust vaccination programs achieving greater than 95% coverage. However, recent years have witnessed a concerning resurgence of this highly contagious disease. This dashboard examines measles case trends from 2015 through November 2025, with particular focus on the unprecedented 2025 outbreak that has recorded over 1,750 confirmed cases—the highest annual count in more than three decades.

The study population includes all confirmed measles cases reported to the CDC across the United States between January 2015 and November 2025. During this period, vaccination rates gradually declined from above 95% to approximately 92.5% nationally by the 2023-2024 school year, creating vulnerable pockets of susceptible individuals in specific communities. The central research question examines: What temporal patterns and demographic factors characterize the measles resurgence, and how does vaccination status relate to disease burden?

This visualization is critical for public health officials, healthcare workers, policymakers, and the general public. It reveals dangerous gaps in vaccination coverage, identifies temporal trends in outbreak frequency, and demonstrates the direct relationship between immunization status and disease susceptibility. With three deaths reported in 2025—the first measles fatalities in a decade—and 12% of cases requiring hospitalization, understanding these patterns is essential for implementing targeted intervention strategies.

Results

The visualizations reveal a dramatic escalation in measles transmission across the United States over the past decade. Figure 1 demonstrates temporal trends showing two major outbreak periods: a 2019 surge with 1,282 cases distributed across 31 outbreaks, followed by a sharp decline to just 13 cases in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic mitigation measures. Cases remained relatively low through 2024 with 285 cases, but 2025 has witnessed an unprecedented crisis. As of November 2025, 1,753 confirmed cases have been reported across 45 outbreaks, representing a 515% increase over the previous year and the highest annual count since measles elimination was achieved in 2000.

Figure 2 starkly illustrates the vaccination gap driving this public health emergency. Among all 2025 cases, 77% (n=1,350) occurred in completely unvaccinated individuals, 19% (n=333) in persons with unknown vaccination status, only 2% (n=35) in those with a single MMR dose, and 2% (n=35) in fully vaccinated individuals. This means 96% of cases occurred in those without documented adequate vaccination, demonstrating the critical breakdown of herd immunity in specific communities. The three deaths reported in 2025 all occurred in unvaccinated children.