By Marie Rosenthal, MS
This story was updated on March 31.
Since the CDC’s health alert was announced on March 7, the number of measles cases has grown 444 in Texas and New Mexico alone, and the number of states that have reported cases have increased to 20.
The states outside of Texas and New Mexico which are reporting cases are: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington. With 23 cases, Kansas is reporting the third highest case count. Most of those cases are in children with six cases being reported in infants and young children, and 15 cases in children from 5 to 17. No one in Kansas has been hospitalized. Ohio has reported 10 cases, all linked to an adult man who was confirmed and reported on March 20. Other states are reporting between one and nine cases.
In addition, cases of vitamin A toxicity have been reported since Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested people could use vitamin A supplementation to treat measles. Some parents appear to be using vitamin A to prevent measles, but vitamin A does not prevent the disease, and studies have shown it is not effective in treating measles among children who are well nourished. A Cochrane review found “no evidence of a difference for VAS [vitamin A supplementation] on mortality due to measles (RR [risk ratio] 0.88, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.11; 6 studies, 1,088,261 children; low-certainty evidence), respiratory disease (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.12; 9 studies, 1,098,538 children; low-certainty evidence), and meningitis.” Vitamin supplementation did reduce the incidence of diarrhea from measles, however (Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2022;3[3]:CD008524).
Infectious Disease Special Edition contacted Covenent Children's in Texas to see if they were treating people with vitamin A toxicity, and they confirmed they are seeing cases. "A brief treatment course of Vitamin A is recommended for patients with severe measles and should be given under the direction of a physician," said Lara Johnson, MD, a pediatric hospitalist and chief medical office of Covenant Health-Lubbock Service Area. "However, excessive consumption of vitamin A may result in significant adverse effects.
"At Covenant Children's, we have encountered cases of vitamin A toxicity, indicated by abnormal liver function in routine lab tests. We’ve seen fewer than 10 cases involving unvaccinated pediatric patients, all initially hospitalized due to measles complications. Some patients reported using vitamin A for both treatment and prevention of measles," she told this magazine in an email.
"This topic has garnered extensive attention on social media and other platforms. While there are potential benefits, it is crucial to consult with your primary care physician before initiating any new treatment regimen," Dr. Johnson explained.
In a case reported in Washington, D.C., a child traveled through Dulles International Airport while still contagious. Measles is contagious for about four days before the virus appears to about four days afterward. The child was in the international arrivals area of Dulles between 4 and 9 p.m. on March 5, according to the D.C. Department of Health. Vermont also reported one case of a child who traveled overseas and developed measles upon their return.
Most of the cases have occurred among unvaccinated children, and one child in Texas died. Another death is still being investigated, the CDC said.
In total, the number of cases in 2025 has already surpassed the total in 2024, according to the CDC. There were 285 measles cases reported in 2024; 40% were hospitalized, but no one died.
All of the state health departments and the CDC are encouraging parents and caregivers to vaccinate their children to protect against this highly infectious disease, but Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to give mixed messages about the outbreak and value of vaccination.
Although he acknowledges in a statement on the HHS website that “vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” he never actually encourages parents to vaccinate their children. On various occasions, including a recent interview with Sean Hannity, from Fox News, Mr. Kennedy said vaccination is dangerous and could kill someone’s child.
“There are adverse events from the vaccine. The vaccine does cause deaths every year. It causes all the illnesses that measles itself causes—encephalitis, blindness, et cetera,” Mr. Kennedy said in that interview. He has also been promoting unproven treatments for measles, including cod liver oil, steroids and antibiotics.
The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine also protects against mumps and rubella. As of Feb. 27, 35 cases of mumps have been reported in 2025, according to the CDC.
The United States has been giving a measles-containing vaccine since 1963. Before vaccination, an average of 549,000 measles cases was reported annually in this country, according to the CDC. However, that number was probably closer to 3 million to 4 million, because most cases went unreported. Of the reported cases, approximately:
- 48,000 people were hospitalized from measles;
- 1,000 people developed chronic disability from acute encephalitis caused by measles annually; and
- 495 people died.
By 2000, measles was declared eliminated from the United States. However, cases and outbreaks still occur, mostly due to importations from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Americas and Africa. Since 2000, the annual number of cases has ranged from 37 to 1,282—mostly among unvaccinated people, according to the CDC.
During the last major rubella epidemic in the United States from 1964 to 1965, an estimated:
- 12.5 million people were infected with rubella;
- 11,000 pregnant women lost their babies;
- 2,100 newborns died; and
- 20,000 babies were born with congenital rubella syndrome.
After introducing the vaccine, the number of people infected with rubella in the United States dropped by more than 99%, according to the CDC. Today, fewer than 10 people in the United States have developed rubella each year.
The introduction of the mumps vaccine in 1967 also led to a decrease in cases of more than 99% in the United States.
