JONATHAN M. METSCH, Dr.P.H. – Tracking Emerging Public Health Challenges – April26, 2026 – Measles
“The resurgence of measles — a terrible disease that can swell the brain and cause permanent disabilities or death — is alarming enough on its own. There have been more than 1,700 cases reported in the United States already this year, up from about 70 per year in the early 2000s. Three children died last year.
The rise of measles may also be a harbinger of something even worse, public officials say. “Measles is basically a canary in the coal mine for our entire system,” says Dr. Scott Harris, the state health officer in Alabama’s Department of Public Health. “When it surges like this, it signals that our vaccination programs are starting to fail, and that other diseases won’t be far behind.” Already, cases of whooping cough have surged, too. And after two Florida children died of Hib, a bacterial infection, epidemiologists worry that disease is resurgent.”
“The arguments against vaccines have been circulating for more than a century, even if social media has allowed them to spread more easily. The claims can seem compelling but can be debunked. Vaccines prevent three million to five million deaths globally each year. They are not toxic and they do not cause autism, full stop.
To some extent, vaccines have been a victim of their own success. They made many disease outbreaks a thing of the past, and people have forgotten how terrible those outbreaks were. We are at growing risk of experiencing that misery again.” (1)
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said in the past 50 years, vaccines have saved over 150 million lives, as ordinary people chose to protect themselves, their children and their communities from diseases such as measles, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, and rotavirus.”
“A report to assess the progress made so far found that, despite unprecedented challenges – including the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical instability, climate disruption and limited financing – immunisation efforts over the past five years had averted millions of deaths.
However, most of the targets remain off track, with persistent gaps in routine coverage, equity and outbreak prevention across many countries.” (2)
‘“Romania is facing the worst measles crisis in the EU. The country has had four epidemics of the illness since 2005, each separated by only a few years of fragile calm.
Between 2023 and 2025, it recorded more than 35,000 cases and at least 30 deaths, most of them infants too young to be vaccinated, infected by older, unvaccinated children. About 87% of all measles cases in the EU were reported in Romania in 2024; the next most affected country, Italy, recorded just over 1,000. Measles can cause serious complications, especially in children and infants, who can develop pneumonia and in some cases encephalitis.” (3)
“In a follow-up on the measles outbreak in Bangladesh since March 15, 2026, the total number of suspected infections rose to 30,607, including 4,460 confirmed measles cases, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
In addition, 251 total deaths have been reported, including 42 confirmed measles fatalities.” (4)
Utah measles cases hit 607 since outbreak, up 48 cases since April 5, https://gephardtdaily.com/local/utah-measles-cases-hit-607-since-outbreak-up-48-cases-since-april-5/
“The South Carolina Department of Public Health said that the outbreak has cost the state at least $2 million in actual expenditures. Up to 90 people at a time were working on responding to and tracking down potential cases and those who were exposed to the highly contagious virus.
The cost to local schools was less clear, though officials across the Upstate described thousands of staff members and teachers scurrying to secure sometimes decades-old immunization records in preparation for an outbreak that ultimately stayed largely in Spartanburg County. Hundreds of unvaccinated children, meanwhile, missed weeks of in-person instruction when exposed to a sick schoolmate.
It had “significant impacts” on public health, said Dr. Brannon Traxler, deputy director of Health Promotion and Services & Chief Medical Officer.
“We diverted staff from other things and had staff working, more staff on weekends than usual, especially during the heart of this,” she said. The state got help funding the response through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also provided seasoned Epidemic Intelligence Service personnel to help analyze the state’s response and potential lessons learned, among other supports.” (5)
“Each morning a vehicle containing hundreds of samples approaches an unassuming building located in UAF’s upper campus. As the packages are carefully handled and test tubes are collected, a meticulously coordinated system of scientists starts its daily routine: extracting viral genetic material, testing its contents, and reporting the results. Each step carefully studied, each movement repeated, over and over again.
Behind these numbered cuvettes, each containing a small amount of fluid, there is a human waiting for answers. What caused their disease, how could they cure it, and what are the dangers others might encounter?” (6)
Newer testing methods suggest significant silent spread of measles in the US, threatening elimination, By Brenda Goodman, https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/24/health/newer-testing-silent-spread-measles-elimination
1.Measles Is Back. What Comes Next Will Be Worse., By The Editorial Board, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/opinion/measles-vaccines-rfk-jr.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
2.Vaccines averted over 150 million deaths from Ebola, measles, others in past 50 years, says WHO, https://gazettengr.com/vaccines-averted-over-150-million-deaths-from-ebola-measles-others-in-past-50-years-says-who/
3.It’s a powder keg’: Romania leads EU measles cases as vaccination rates collapse, by Andrei Popoviciu, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/romania-eu-measles-cases-vaccination-rates-collapse
4.Bangladesh measles outbreak tops 30,000 total cases since mid-March, https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/bangladesh-measles-outbreak-tops
5.South Carolina’s 200-day measles outbreak is over. What it cost., By Tom Corwin and Anna B. Mitchell, https://www.postandcourier.com/health/sc-measles-outbreak-cost/article_b8ffae7d-4003-46e8-820d-683d80b73776.html
6.A fight against the invisible: How the Alaska State Virology Laboratory is hunting down measles, by Gabriele Rigaudom, https://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/a-fight-against-the-invisible-how-the-alaska-state-virology-laboratory-is-hunting-down-measles/article_5901f6b4-216a-467c-84b6-d991b02aaac9.html
curated by Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H.
Clinical Professor of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai