The United Kingdom and five other countries in Europe and Central Asia recently lost their measles elimination status, according to a report by Reuters.

Reuters reports that Spain, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan lost their status, along with the UK.

WHO committees in each region decide whether a country is measles-free using case rates. To be considered measles-free by the WHO, a country must have no locally transmitted cases of the same strain for 12 months or longer.
The decision to strip certain European countries of their status was made last September based on data from 2024. But the WHO only released the information on Monday after getting sign-off from every country involved.
Source: Reuters

According to the BMJ, UK outbreaks began in late 2023 and intensified through 2024, with data indicating endemic transmission of the virus was re-established in the country.

The UK first gained measles elimination status in 2016 but lost that status in 2018, only to regain it again in 2021 due to COVID-19 infectious disease controls, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

United States May Lose Measles Elimination Status

In November 2025, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) revoked Canada’s measles elimination status after sustained transmission and more than 5,000 cases were reported in the country.

Now the same organization has called for a virtual meeting with the United States and Mexico on April 13, 2026 to review each country’s elimination status. PAHO says that measles outbreaks were first reported in the United States on January 20, 2025, and in Mexico on February 1, 2025. 

According to the CDC, the US measles cases totaled 2,255 last year — the most in 34 years, since over 9,000 were reported in 1991.

2025’s total was driven primarily by an outbreak in Texas, which infected 762 Americans and killed two children before it was declared over by the state in August 2025.

But measles has continued to spread in 2026. As per the latest CDC national update, 588 confirmed cases have been reported this year, as of Jan 30 data.

The epicenter for the 2026 outbreak is South Carolina, which has reported 876 cases (214* in 2025 plus 662* in 2026) as of February 3 data.

Although the 2025 Texas outbreak and 2025-26 South Carolina outbreak are not linked, the US may lose its elimination status “if it fails to prove that it can interrupt the spread of measles quickly and consistently,” according to an NPR report.

*Exact 2025 vs 2026 totals differ between sources.
The South Carolina Dept of Health reports 214 cases in 2025.
The CDC reports 323 cases in South Carolina in 2025.