US surpasses 1,000 measles cases for the 3rd time in 26 years: CDC
A sign outside a mobile clinic offering measles and flu vaccinations on February 6, 2026 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Measles cases have topped 1,000 in the United States for the third time in 26 years.
At least 154 new measles cases have been confirmed in the last week for a total of 1,136, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
So far this year, cases have been confirmed in 27 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Just six measles cases were reported among international travelers so far this year, according to CDC data.
About 92% of cases are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, CDC data shows.
Meanwhile, 4% of cases are among those who have received just one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and 4% of cases are among those who received the recommended two doses, according to the CDC.
The current measles situation in the U.S. is partly being driven by a large outbreak in South Carolina that began last year, with 979 cases recorded as of Friday, according to state health officials.
Last year, the U.S. recorded 2,281 measles cases, which is the highest number of national cases in 33 years, according to the CDC. Before that, the last time measles cases rose above 1,000 was 2019 — CDC data showed 1,274 that year. Recorded cases dropped to a low of 13 in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CDC currently recommends people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles, according to the CDC.
However, federal data shows vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years. During the 2024-2025 school year, 92.5% of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine, according to data. This is lower than the 92.7% seen in the previous school year and the 95.2% seen in the 2019-2020 school year, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
(NEW YORK) — Weekly visits to emergency rooms for tick bites are at the highest level since at least 2017, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
During the most recent week, 71 per 100,000 ER visits were due to tick bites, compared to the average of about 30 per 100,000 ER visits for this time of year, more than double from what is typical this time of year.
Currently, the Northeast is reporting the most ER visits for tick bites, followed by the Midwest, Southeast, West and South Central regions, respectively, CDC data shows.
“We’re running well above historic average and even well above last year,” Dr. John J. Halperin, chair of the New Jersey Stroke Care Advisory Panel and member of the department of neuroscience at Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center in New Jersey — who partly focuses on Lyme disease — told ABC News.
“The ticks have started a little earlier. There seems to be a lot of them. A lot of people are going to the emergency room,” he continued. “It’s not entirely clear how much of this is increased recognition and as people become more aware of this, more going to the emergency room. But there seems to be a clear increase in the number of ticks out there.”
May is typically when ER visits for tick bites peak each year, and it remains unclear if the upward trend will continue.
Halperin said it is possible that the monthly April average will level out and match prior years.
“Spring and early summer are prime time for getting bitten by the locally youngest form of ticks, which are the main ones who get us humans,” he said. “So, seeing a lot of them certainly means an increased risk.”
Tick-borne diseases have been on the rise in recent years and scientists suspect it is partly linked to climate change, which has caused shorter winters, earlier springs and hotter summers.
Dr. Christopher Bazzoli, an emergency medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic, said because of increased tick populations, in conjunction with warmer weather and heavy rains, it is likely some tick populations grow earlier in the season.
“Ticks tend to become active when the temp reaches 45 degrees [Fahrenheit] or more,” he told ABC News. “If [temperatures] stay higher into the fall, we could also see a longer tick season.”
Halperin said that in addition to climate change, there has been an increase in the recognition of certain tick-borne diseases.
“One big change … was the CDC changed what they would allow to be called a confirmed case of Lyme disease and really loosened the criteria,” he said. “So, there was a huge bump in the reported numbers.”
The CDC recommends that people avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter and stay in the center of trails when hiking. The agency also recommends using Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellents containing at least 20% DEET, 20% picaridin as the listed active ingredient or other approved ingredients, but to avoid use for children under the age of 3.
“The thing to appreciate is these ticks have a strongly preferred habitat,” Halperin said. “They spend much of their lives in low brush. Their preferred reservoir host is the field mouse. Field mice carry Lyme disease … and if a tick lodges on that field mouse, it picks up the infection, and they can give it to us. The first thing you could do is stay away from areas where there might be field mice and ticks.”
The CDC also recommends treating outdoor clothing and gear with 0.5% permethrin, an insecticide and repellent, which remains effective even after multiple washes.
Halperin suggests doing a tick check at the end of the day. If you find one, he recommends using fine-tip tweezers, placing them between the skin and the tick and pulling to remove the tick.
Bazzoli recommended cleaning the area and taking a picture of the tick to identify it and what type of disease it could possibly be carrying.
Dr. Casey Means, nominee for the medical director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and U.S. surgeon general, testifies at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on February 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s surgeon general nominee, Dr. Casey Means, indicated she supports vaccines but stopped short of recommending certain shots during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee on Wednesday.
Means, who has a medical degree but does not hold an active medical license, appeared hesitant to say that some vaccines, such as the flu vaccine, prevent serious disease.
When asked by HELP committee chair Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., if she would encourage mothers to vaccinate their children with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine amid widespread illness in the U.S., Means said, “I absolutely am supportive of the measles vaccine, and I do believe vaccines save lives and are important part of the public health strategy.”
However, she stressed personal autonomy and said each patient or parent needs to have a conversation with their doctor or pediatrician before taking any medication.
Later in the hearing, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., asked Means for her opinion on the efficacy of the flu vaccine.
“Do you believe that there is evidence that the flu vaccine prevents serious disease and prevents hospitalization or deaths in children?” Kaine said.
“I believe that all patients should talk to their doctor–” Means began answering.
“And so do I, and that’s not what I’m asking,” Kaine interjected.
“I support the CDC’s guidance on the flu vaccine,” Means replied, adding that she believes the shot reduced the risk of hospitalization “at the population level.”
Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it was changing the childhood immunization schedule, removing the universal recommendation for multiple shots, including the flu vaccine.
Means was originally scheduled to testify before the HELP committee in October, but her appearance was postponed for four months after she went into labor.
If confirmed, Means would become the nation’s top doctor, leading more than 6,000 members of the U.S. Public Health Service, including physicians, nurses, scientists and engineers working at various federal health agencies.
Means’ views largely mirror those of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with a focus on tackling the chronic disease epidemic, creating a healthier food supply and expressing vaccine skepticism.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud and Arthur Jones II contributed to this report.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton attends the executive order signing ceremony to reduce the size and scope of the Education Department in the East Room of the White House on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A Texas appeals court will hear arguments on Thursday in a civil lawsuit brought against a woman accused by the state of illegally providing abortions in the Houston area.
Maria Margarita Rojas allegedly provided abortions in violation of the state’s abortion ban and was practicing medicine without a license at a network of clinics in northwestern Houston, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Last year, a lower court in Waller County issued an injunction against Rojas and the three clinics at which she worked, causing them to shut down.
The Center for Reproductive Rights is currently asking the appellate court to reverse that decision.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have also accused Rojas of violating the state’s abortion ban and charged her with a first-degree felony that carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison.
“[Paxton] is accusing our client of basically operating abortion clinics, which the problem is that the allegations just aren’t true and we think that the state completely failed to prove or show that any abortions were happening or that any unlawful practice was happening at the clinics,” Marc Herron, interim associate director of litigation with the CRR, who is representing Rojas in the civil case, told ABC News.
ABC News has also reached out to the attorney representing Rojas in the criminal case.
Herron said the case against Rojas is significant because it marks the first time a provider has been criminally charged in Texas for violating the state’s abortion ban.
He accused Paxton’s office of conducting a “shoddy” investigation and said Rojas was using the abortion drug misoprostol to provide miscarriage care.
In January 2025, an anonymous complaint was filed with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, alleging that two abortions were performed at one of Rojas’ clinics, according to the appellate brief.
The Medicaid Fraud Division within Paxton’s office began investigating, with one investigator claiming to find a pill bottle of the drug misoprostol, according to the complaint. While misoprostol can be used as part of a two-drug combination to induce an abortion, it is also used to treat first-trimester miscarriages.
In filing an appeal, Rojas’ attorneys argued that mifepristone, the drug given with misoprostol to induce an abortion, was never found by investigators, nor were tools found that would be used in a surgical abortion.
They also alleged the state investigators had no “medical training or expertise” to know what misoprostol could be used for and did not consult with a medical expert during the investigation.
Herron said the effects of the investigation and of the charges have been devastating on Rojas.
“I think this is a politically motivated case and the effect has been to completely upend my client’s life,” Herron said. “She was arrested twice. She was held in jail for 10 days and had to post this exorbitant $1.4 million bond. She’s now out, but she’s got to wear an ankle monitor. There are extreme restrictions on her travel. Her midwifery license has been temporarily suspended pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings, which could take years.”
He added that the proceedings have also affected the predominantly Spanish-speaking, low-income, uninsured patients who relied on care from Rojas and her clinics.
“People who relied on Mrs. Rojas for midwifery care — she delivered babies,” Herron said. “She was a caring, devoted midwife who delivered babies and provided care to her patients, and now her patients can’t turn to her. So this has been devastating.”
According to a press release last year from Paxton, Rojas is a midwife known as “Dr. Maria.” She allegedly owned and operated multiple clinics, including Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring — all in the northwest Houston area.
Rojas is accused of performing “illegal abortion procedures” in her clinics, which allegedly violated the Texas Human Life Protection Act, the attorney general’s office said.
Abortions are banned in Texas except in limited, exception cases if the woman has a life-threatening condition or is at risk of “substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”
In the limited exceptions when abortion is allowed, patients are required to make two trips, one for an in-person counseling session and then 24 hours later for the abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that focuses on sexual and reproductive health
Paxton’s office did not immediately return ABC News’ request for comment
