Vaccine preventable diseases in the news
In the United States
Measles
Texas- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of April 3, 2025, a total of 607 confirmed measles cases were reported by 22 jurisdictions.
In Texas, health officials report 481 outbreak cases since late January in the South Plains and Panhandle regions of Texas.
Fifty-six of the patients have been hospitalized and one death has been reported.
Only 7 of the 481 total outbreak cases were fully vaccinated.
In addition, there are another half dozen non-outbreak cases reported in the state.
New Mexico- The New Mexico Department of Health reports the case count for measles has risen to 54.
All but two of the cases are in Lea County. The remaining cases are in Eddy County.
Most of the cases involve unvaccinated residents. State health officials say this is not a rapidly expanding outbreak, but a situation where cases have been occurring steadily over time.
One death was reported.
Other states reporting outbreaks or a high number of cases include Kansas (24 cases), Oklahoma (10) and Ohio (10).
In all of 2024, CDC reported a total of 285 measles cases in 33 jurisdictions.
Mumps
In Michigan, The Oakland County Health Division has its first mumps case this year– the first reported case in Oakland County since 2022 and the ninth in Michigan in 2025.
As of March 27, 2025, 23 jurisdictions reported a total of 67 mumps cases, according to the CDC.
5 Vaccine preventable diseases in the US: Then and now
Pertussis
Louisiana- The Louisiana Department of Health is closely monitoring ongoing increased pertussis activity.
To date in 2025, 110 cases of pertussis have been identified in Louisiana.
The department can confirm that two young infants within Louisiana have died from pertussis within the past 6 months. Prior to the tragic deaths of these two infants, the last infant death due to pertussis in Louisiana occurred in 2018.
Cases are also rising nationally. Officials confirmed more than 35,000 infections in 2024, the most in more than a decade. Ten people died, six of them less than 1 year old. Through the end of March 2025, officials report about 7,111 cases, almost four times the number at this point last year.
Washington state has reported the most cases to date with 729. Michigan, Ohio, California and Oregon follow, each having seen more than 400 cases this year.
Tetanus
During the first three months of 2025, federal health officials have reported three tetanus cases in the US—one each in New York, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
In all of 2024, 32 tetanus cases were reported in the US.