Global measles cases nearly doubled in one year, researchers say

The number of measles cases around the world nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023, researchers say, presenting a challenge to efforts to achieve and maintain elimination status in many countries.

There were 171,153 cases globally in 2022, according to Dr. Patrick O’Connor of the World Health Organization, who presented the research Saturday at the ESCMID Global Congress in Barcelona. Provisional data shows 321,582 cases for 2023 and more than 94,000 so far in 2024, although the number is probably much higher.

Almost half of this year’s cases have been in WHO’s European Region, with the highest incidence in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Yemen.

The US has had 128 measles cases reported in 20 jurisdictions this year, as of Friday, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is the highest number since 2019.

Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, “meaning there is no measles spreading within the country and new cases are only found when someone contracts measles abroad and returns,” the CDC says. However, the rapid rise in cases this year poses a threat to that disease elimination status, the agency says.