Regional health agency revokes US measles elimination status as cases surge: Report

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has revoked the US' measles elimination status following a surge in infections, with 5,400 cases reported in 2026, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Public health experts had warned that the US could lose its elimination status as outbreaks spread across several states over the past two years, including Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, according to the newspaper.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 5,400 measles cases so far in 2026.

The Pan American Health Organization grants measles elimination status to countries that have recorded no continuous transmission of the virus for at least 12 months. The agency bases its determination on a review of CDC outbreak data.

Health experts described the loss of the designation as "a stunning reversal for a nation that has kept the vaccine-preventable disease at bay for decades," according to the report.

The US achieved measles elimination status in 2000 following extensive vaccination campaigns and the creation of a program providing free measles vaccines to millions of children.

"Runaway measles outbreaks in the United States, as well as the needless deaths, are all due to low measles vaccination coverage," Noel Brewer told the newspaper.

Brewer chairs an independent committee that presented findings on US measles outbreaks to the Pan American Health Organization.

"We've gotten comfortable letting children be stopped by a deadly disease and die from it," Brewer said.