Measles News and Research

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Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus. It remains a leading cause of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. An estimated 197 000 people died from measles in 2007, mostly children under the age of five.

Measles is caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family. The measles virus normally grows in the cells that line the back of the throat and the lungs. It is a human disease not known to occur in animals.

Canada's measles outbreak exposes vulnerabilities in disease elimination efforts

The outbreak that contributed to Canada losing its measles elimination status in November 2025 was concentrated in historically under-vaccinated communities with close social networks across Canada, the US, Mexico, and beyond, creating opportunities for cross-border transmission, concludes a study published by The BMJ today.

28 Oct 2026

More Americans now know alcohol increases future cancer risks

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans (58%) know that regularly consuming alcohol increases the chances of later developing cancer, according to a nationally representative survey in October by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC), a statistically significant increase of five percentage points since February 2026.

27 Oct 2026

New poll shows which childhood vaccines US parents trust

While support for childhood vaccines is high, concerns about COVID-19 vaccine safety during pregnancy reveal significant public health messaging challenges.

26 Oct 2026

Food quality concerns unite Americans far beyond MAHA political support

The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement emerged as part of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign following former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s endorsement of Trump.

24 Oct 2026

Perceptions of science and scientists shape partisan views on common vaccines

How Americans view science and scientists is strongly associated with whether they think vaccines are safe and effective - and helps explain partisan differences in perceptions of some vaccines, according to a new study led by a team from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

20 Oct 2026

MSU researchers seek to better understand a viral mechanism shared between influenza and HIV

When you get your yearly flu shot, you're helping your body stay one step ahead of the rapidly mutating influenza virus. But what if there was a way to achieve stronger, multi-year protection from a single jab?

30 Sep 2026

Annenberg poll reveals confusion over RFK Jr. vaccine recommendations

The number of measles cases in the United States is at the highest level in decades, attributed to a decrease in vaccination against measles.

29 Sep 2026

Dropping vaccine mandate could spark the largest measles epidemic in the United States

Measles is making a comeback. Once considered eliminated from the United States, the disease has been popping up around the country as vaccine coverage declines.

29 Sep 2026

A hidden measles signal may reveal how large the next outbreak could be

Researchers used historical measles surveillance and demographic data from pre-vaccination England and Wales to reconstruct how the susceptible population changed between epidemics. Their model linked susceptibility at the start of an epidemic year with the magnitude of the following outbreak, pointing to a potential route for one-year-ahead forecasting that requires further development for modern surveillance settings.

22 Sep 2026

Mpox study reveals high rate of false-positive PCR tests

In August 2024, the WHO declared the mpox upsurge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and its spread to neighboring countries, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

22 Sep 2026

World Cup travel and low vaccination fuel Latin American measles outbreaks

Countries in Latin America are being urged to strengthen vaccination and surveillance to fight measles as the region records the highest number of cases in more than two decades, disease experts say.

21 Sep 2026

Measles outbreaks may reveal more than gaps in vaccination

A commentary in Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics argues that measles outbreaks can serve as a sensitive indicator of weaknesses in vaccination coverage, surveillance, health equity, community trust, and broader immunization systems. The authors contend that pursuing measles eradication could also strengthen routine immunization, laboratory capacity, outbreak preparedness, and health-system resilience.

21 Sep 2026

A 194-country analysis reveals gaps in how late childhood vaccinations are tracked

A global analysis of WHO/UNICEF data from 194 countries found wide variation in countries’ ability to record delayed childhood vaccinations, with 64% of reporting countries saying they could capture late doses in 2022. Following birth cohorts over time and adding delayed MCV1 doses raised median coverage estimates by 3.6 to 5.1 percentage points across available cohort years, though incomplete and inconsistent reporting limited confidence in some estimates.

21 Sep 2026

Scientists identify new drug target to combat airborne tuberculosis

Tuberculosis bacteria released into the air from infected individuals dry out to form infectious particles that are second only to measles in contagiousness.

26 Aug 2026

Why pregnancy vaccination looks very different in Germany than it did 19 years ago

A 19-year German claims analysis of more than 2.8 million pregnancies found that recorded maternal vaccination increased substantially after national recommendations for influenza and pertussis immunization were introduced. Influenza vaccination reached 19.4% and pertussis vaccination about 37% in 2020-2022, while COVID-19 vaccination was not captured in the databas

19 Aug 2026

Rare cruise ship virus outbreak highlights public messaging lessons and disease preparedness

A small outbreak of a rare hantavirus on a cruise ship earlier this year captured worldwide attention and sparked concerns about a possible new pandemic.

10 Aug 2026

New website tracks vaccine preventable diseases across the United States

A new website will track the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases across the United States to offer the public, the media, healthcare providers, public health officials, and policymakers reliable and visual information about current disease trends.

5 Aug 2026

Study reveals steep financial burden of New Mexico measles outbreak

A cost analysis of the 2025 measles outbreak in New Mexico found that the outbreak carried an estimated societal cost of $5.4 million, or more than $53,000 per case.

3 Aug 2026

Oral drug candidate blocks transmission of measles-like disease in ferrets

A new oral antiviral drug candidate administered either before or after direct contact or airborne exposure to canine distemper virus, which causes measles-like disease in ferrets, blocks transmission of the virus and reduces clinical symptoms, according to a study published in the journal Nature Microbiology by researchers in the Center for Translational Antiviral Research (CTAR) at Georgia State University.

24 Jul 2026

Survey finds widespread uncertainty over pregnancy vaccine recommendations

Most Americans are unaware or unsure of which vaccines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends during pregnancy, according to a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

22 Jul 2026