The U.S. is expected to lose its measles-free status this week as the Pan American Health Organization meets to review measles outbreaks in the Western Hemisphere.

Measles elimination means a country has not had a continuous, locally transmitted outbreak for at least 12 months. The United States is experiencing multiple measles outbreaks, marking the highest number of cases in 35 years as Pennsylvania confirmed its sixth measles death last week.

Losing elimination status is a blow to the country’s credibility as a world leader in fighting measles, Dr. William Moss, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a public statement. The disease is preventable with a safe vaccination combined with vaccinations for mumps and rubella.

“The United States was the first country to eliminate measles in the Americas, which was first verified in the year 2016,” Moss said, “and through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. has really played a leading role in supporting many countries, not only in the Americas but around the world, in helping them eliminate measles.”

Measles is a highly contagious disease that causes a rash, fever, coughing, runny nose and red, watery eyes, and can infect nine of 10 people who come into contact with a sick person, according to the CDC.

The United States has seen 5,400 cases this year as of Friday, according to the Johns Hopkins U.S. Measles Tracker.

The Maryland Department of Health reports 67 confirmed cases of measles this year, a sharp rise from three cases in 2025. Cecil, Charles and St. Mary’s counties have active outbreaks as of Thursday.

For all of 2025, the country had 2,289 confirmed measles cases, according to the CDC. Before last year, the last time measles cases topped 2,000 was in 1992, when there were 2,126. In 1991, before the country made a concerted effort to eliminate the disease, 9,643 measles cases were reported.

Another consequence of the resurgence of measles is personal to those who catch the virus, Moss said.

“Already this year, about 11% of measles cases here in the United States required hospitalizations. We have probably about seven deaths already from measles, and there are many complications of measles,” Moss said. “So, the flip side of losing the elimination status is just that we have to deal with ongoing outbreaks of measles and continuous spread of measles virus here in this country.”

There is also a financial cost.

Investigating each measles outbreak costs about $43,000, with an additional $16,000 per patient, according to a study by the International Vaccine Access Center.

Getting vaccinated protects infants as well as vulnerable adults who cannot get the shot, Moss said.

“If we make a decision ourselves not to get vaccinated or our children to get vaccinated, we’re actually putting at risk those most vulnerable people around us in our community, in our schools, in our workplace,” he said. “So it’s really important that we get ourselves vaccinated and our children vaccinated against measles, not only to protect ourselves but protect those vulnerable individuals around us.”

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