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Two measles deaths were reported in Pennsylvania in the past week, marking the third and fourth people who have died from measles in 2026, all of whom were in the state. This is the most measles deaths the US has had in a single year since 1992. The US reported 154 cases over the past week, a decrease from the 183 cases of the prior week. The 2026 total of measles cases is now 3,705 (based on report date and not rash onset), more than any year since 1991.

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9/17/26 — Two measles deaths were reported in Pennsylvania this past week, marking the third and fourth measles deaths in 2026, all in Pennsylvania. This is the most measles-related deaths recorded in the US since 1992. In addition to the deaths, the US recorded 154 measles cases in the past week. This is the sixth week in a row that the US has reported more than 100 cases in a week. The US has reported a total of 3,705 cases so far in 2026*, the highest number since 1991.

*The measles data we report are tallied by the date they were reported by the health department (as opposed to other organizations, which tally cases by rash onset date). All data are procured from state health department websites.

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View Methodology
Counts include confirmed and probable cases.
Data are updated weekly on Thursdays or in coordination with the Pandemic Center Tracking Report release.
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We collect data from state health department websites that usually report by MMWR week. However, the day of the week these data are released differs by state. These numbers also may change over time as cases are backdated. Our totals reflect the most recent data available from the state health department website at the time of newsletter publication.

Pennsylvania, which is experiencing an ongoing measles outbreak that began in April, reported two deaths this week, the third and fourth of the year, and 107 cases, bringing the state total for 2026 to 731. The third measles-associated death was reported in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, on September 14 and was a 40-year-old woman with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who contracted measles after exposure to a family member. The fourth measles-associated death was an 18-year-old who lived in Mifflin County. The 18-year-old had acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a rare complication of measles that causes severe brain and spinal cord inflammation. Both people were unvaccinated. Lancaster County, located in southeast Pennsylvania, has reported the highest number of measles cases this year with 308, and Mifflin County, located in central Pennsylvania, is second with 83 cases. Lancaster County reported the first two measles deaths this year, both in infants. The CDC has not recorded these deaths on its measles website, noting it is working with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) to “develop a standardized case definition for deaths due to measles.” Notably, Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has created a definition for a measles-associated death modeled on CSTE definitions for other respiratory diseases, using the following: “A confirmed measles-associated death is a death that occurs within 30 days of symptom onset in an individual with clinical evidence of a measles infection and a positive laboratory test, and that is not due to unrelated causes (e.g., motor vehicle accident). Additional information, such as whether an individual was exposed to measles prior to their death or supporting medical records, is also considered.” According to WastewaterSCAN, measles was newly detected in wastewater in the US this week in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (September 8). Pennsylvania has had 731 cases so far in 2026, most of which have been in nearby Lancaster County, the most cases the state has reported in over 30 years.

Ohio has reported the second-highest increase in measles cases in the US over the past week, with 11 cases, bringing the total to 133. This is much higher than the 44 total measles cases Ohio recorded in 2025. In Georgia, cases related to a daycare outbreak increased by three cases this week. There have been 10 cases related to this outbreak. In total, Georgia has had 16 cases this year. In 2025, Georgia reported 10 total measles cases. WastewaterSCAN detected measles in Atlanta, Georgia on September 8.

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Nine other states reported new cases over the past week as well: Colorado (+1), Florida (+3), Illinois (+8), Indiana (+4), Kentucky (+5), Missouri (+2), New Mexico (+1), Tennessee (+1), and Wisconsin (+5). 

Arizona and Utah did not report any new measles cases for the third week in a row. Despite this, both Arizona and Utah have experienced measles in their states for more than one year. Since 2025, Arizona has had 344 measles cases, and Utah has had 715 during that same time. In 2024, Arizona reported a total of five measles cases, and Utah had zero. Utah reported measles detections in wastewater samples taken on September 3 in the Bear River Health Department, which has reported cases. The Oregon Respiratory Viral Pathogen Wastewater Monitoring Dashboard shows that measles was detected in Benton County for the week of September 12. Oregon has reported 57 measles cases this year, compared to one case in the state last year. CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) includes more sites than WastewaterSCAN, but captures data only up through September 5. NWSS reported wastewater detections of measles in San Mateo and San Francisco Counties, California, Muscatine County, Iowa, and Cache County, Utah, aligning with current detections of clinical cases and wastewater detections covered in last week’s report.

Global Measles Outbreaks

This is a snapshot of notable measles updates, not an exhaustive list of all countries currently experiencing outbreaks.

• Bangladesh: as of September 14, Bangladesh reported a total of 173,959 cases of measles. From September 13 to September 14, the country recorded 1,239 cases. Since Bangladesh began reporting the case numbers in April, it has been typical for it to report about 1,000 cases over 24 hours.