Alice Wade
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed a shocking rise in cases of a highly contagious disease across the US.
According to the public health agency, the States has now surpassed 2,000 cases of the illness, the highest it's been in more than 30 years, as experts believe growing populations of anti-vaxxers could be to blame.
It's measles - a viral infection that causes cold-like symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, and is typically followed by a blotched red rash. As of December 23, there have been 2,012 confirmed cases in the US alone.
Thanks to modern medicine, the country has seen a rapid decline in measles cases year on year. The last time the US saw a figure as high as 2,000 was 1992, when 2,126 infections were confirmed, CDC data states.
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However, in recent years, a growing number of Americans have opted not to forgo vaccinations based on their political stance. Some believe that the growing movement has led to a surge in measles cases worldwide to a 25-year high.
The measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) jab, which can be 93 percent effective, has received scrutiny within Donald Trump's government, despite soaring cases across the country.
Not only is measles highly contagious, but it can also be dangerous. Data shows that 11 percent of those who caught the illness were hospitalized, with over half of those under the age of 19.
The CDC suggests that 93 percent of those who have been diagnosed with the illness in 2025 are unvaccinated, or their vaccination status is unknown.
Meanwhile, the remaining seven percent have received at least one dose of the MMR vaccine (three percent), with four percent having had two jabs.
50 outbreaks of the virus were reported in 2025, including an ongoing outbreak in South Carolina, a figure that far surpasses 2024's 16 outbreaks.
South Carolina's Department of Public Health confirmed 176 cases as of December 30, with the majority of cases reported in Spartanburg County, which sits on the border with North Carolina.
As a result, hundreds of students across the state have been forced to quarantine at home.
The CDC recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR jab: the first at 12 to 15 months old and the second between four and six years old.
Just one dose of the vaccine can prove 93 percent effective, while two doses increase this to 97 percent.
Measles was successfully eliminated from the Americas in 2016, but it is now at risk of losing its measles-free status following outbreaks.
Across 10 countries in North and Latin America, 11,668 cases have been reported, according to the latest data by the Pan-American Health Organization (Paho).
Rosana Richtmann, an infectious disease doctor and coordinator of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Disease’s Immunization Committee, previously called the US' position on vaccinations an 'outrage' and warned that without further push to vaccinate, the 'problem' would only worsen.