Measles cases in US surpass 100: Which states have reported measles in 2025? See map
As Texas continues to battle a growing measles outbreak largely among its unvaccinated children, six other states have confirmed cases, as well. They include New Mexico, Alaska, Georgia and New York.
Editor's note: This file captures the news of measles causes in the U.S. as of Thursday, February 20, 2025. For the latest updates on the measles follow Paste BN's coverage for Tuesday, March 4.
As Texas continues to contend with a growing measles outbreak that has sickened 90 and counting, other states have begun reporting their own cases of the highly contagious disease.
Three other states, New Mexico, Georgia and New Jersey, have also reported at least three cases.
But with the CDC only updating case numbers monthly, the task of tracking and announcing the spread has fallen to individual states in the weeks between.
The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Friday that confirmed infections were up to 90, mostly in children. All but five cases involve unvaccinated people or people with unknown vaccination status, and most occurred in far West Texas in Gaines County, which had a 13.6% rate of non-medical vaccine exemptions in K-12 students, according to 2023-2024 state data. Sixteen people had been hospitalized as of Friday.
In New Mexico, the number was up to nine, the New Mexico Department of Health confirmed to Paste BN Thursday, all in Lea County, which is just across from the Texas state line and Gaines County. Four of those infected were under the age of 18 and unvaccinated, while the other five were adults, also of unvaccinated or unknown vaccination status, reported the Las Cruces Sun News, part of the Paste BN Network.
Meanwhile, Georgia officials confirmed to Paste BN on Thursday that the state still had three confirmed cases. The Rhode Island health department said the state had one case, while Alaska confirmed it had two. On Friday, New Jersey confirmed that it had three cases.
New York City, where one case was reported by the CDC as part of its last update on Feb. 7, did not respond to a request to confirm its current number of infections.
See map of states with measles cases
What is measles and how do you get it?
Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease caused by a virus that primarily, and most severely, affects children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it infects the respiratory tract before spreading throughout the body.
The virus is highly contagious; so contagious, in fact, that 90% of unvaccinated people who are exposed end up contracting it. Additionally, one in five of those people end up hospitalized, according to the CDC.
Measles is spread through contact with infected nasal or throat secretions, according to WHO. It is airborne and most commonly spread through actions like coughing, sneezing or breathing. The measles virus can remain contagious in the air or on contaminated surfaces for up to two hours.
What are the symptoms of measles?
According to the CDC, measles symptoms appear seven to 14 days after contact with the virus and typically include high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes. Measles rash appears three to five days after the onset of the first symptoms.
Other signs and symptoms of measles include:
- When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit
- High fever
- Cough
- Runny nose and sneezing
- Red, watery eyes
- Loss of appetite, diarrhea
- Reddish-brown rash that can spread across the entire body
- Koplik spots, tiny white spots that may appear inside the mouth two to three days after symptoms begin
- Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots (the spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the rest of the body)
Contributing: Janet Loehrke, Paste BN
This story has been updated to add new information and to correct a typo.