JONATHAN M. METSCH, Dr.,P.H. – Tracking Emerging Public Health Challenges – September 13, 2026– MEASLES
“Since Wednesday, September 9, Pensylvania state health officials report an additional 52 measles cases, bringing the total to 676 confirmed cases in 2026.
This leapfrogs Pennsylvania over South Carolina (671) as the US state reporting the most measles cases this year.” (1)
“We’re on pace to potentially double the number of cases that we had last year,” says Judith O’Donnell, chief medical officer & chief of Infectious Diseases, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and associate CMO for Health Care Epidemiology for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
To stop the spread of measles, 95% of a population must be immune, and the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine is the safest, most effective way to prevent measles. But throughout pockets of the U.S., a decrease in vaccinations has caused this rate to fall short, substantially increasing the risk of outbreaks.
As measles hits home locally, Jeffrey Martin, chair of Family and Community Medicine at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, says protecting patients, visitors, and staff from exposure is key across inpatient and outpatient settings.
“Our teams are reinforcing early identification and screening protocols, promptly isolating patients with suspected symptoms, and following established infection prevention procedures,” he explains.
Signs posted outside hospitals and some outpatient offices ask those who are unvaccinated or not immune, and have measles symptoms, to call for guidance before entering the facility. Other tactics include offering accelerated vaccination schedules to protect infants, hosting free vaccine clinics, promoting telehealth visits, and testing patients in their cars.
Martin and his teams in Lancaster are also working closely with public health partners, including the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and evaluating additional measures as the situation evolves—such as reviewing NICU, Pediatric, and Oncology floor visitation restrictions and enhancing room cleaning protocols, as well as exploring the use of alternative entrances for sick visits in their urgent care and outpatient clinics. (2)
“There was optimism early on about bringing the measles outbreak in Bangladesh under control.
Thirteen-month-old Jannat cries as her mother Sohana, a garment worker, tries to feed her. The child is hospitalized for measles at DNCC Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
More than 500 children have died in an outbreak that the world is virtually ignoring
In April, the country’s health minister, Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain, offered this assessment: “Measles outbreak has somewhat decreased in the country. Once the nationwide vaccination campaign begins on April 20, the situation will improve further.”
The goal was to vaccinate 18 million children ages 6 months to 5 years, even if records indicated they’d already been vaccinated. That goal was met and then some, with 18.4 million vaccinations.
Five months later, the outbreak continues apace.
In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Bangladesh has had more measles cases than any other country from January to June of this year: 57,561.
On the day of Aug. 31, authorities recorded 1,162 suspected cases and 94 confirmed cases in 24 hours.
On September 9, the toll for children who have died from suspected or confirmed measles cases since March 15 passed 1,000, according to the Directorate General of Health Services of Bangladesh.
Why has the virus not been conquered?
It turns out that 18 million vaccinations wasn’t enough to reach all the unvaccinated children. Health experts in the country now say that 22.6 million is the true target.” (3)
“Hospitals are struggling to cope with the surge in measles cases at a time when growing numbers of dengue patients are putting additional pressure on an already overstretched healthcare system.
More than 45,000 people have been admitted to hospital for dengue this year, according to health ministry data. On Tuesday, dengue deaths rose to nine, while admissions climbed to 1,571, both daily highs for the year.
“Patients are pouring in, and it is very difficult to accommodate everyone,” said Dr. Nanda Dulal Saha, acting director of the state-run Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Dhaka, adding the hospital currently had 60 beds for measles patients, but many were being treated on the floor.
Saha said a shortage of paediatric saline, which can help alleviate the symptoms of measles, was complicating the situation.
The hospital, designed for 1,350 patients, is currently caring for more than 2,350, he said.” (4)
1.Pennsylvania now leads the US in measles, by Robert Herriman, https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/pennsylvania-now-leads-the-us-in
2.Penn Medicine is prepared to meet the new measles moment, by Abby Alten Schwartz, https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-medicine-prepared-meet-new-measles-moment
3.Whatever happened to the measles outbreak that shocked a country this year?, By Ali Asif Shawon, https://www.npr.org/2026/09/09/g-s1-141466/measles-outbreak-vaccination-bangladesh
4.Bangladesh fights world’s worst measles outbreak as vaccination gaps fuel spread, By Ruma Paul, https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/bangladesh-fights-worlds-worst-measles-outbreak-vaccination-gaps-fuel-spread-2026-09-09/
curated by Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H.
Clinical Professor of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai