Measles Outbreak: Spain and US hit by outbreaks as vaccine gaps leave public exposed

Measles, one of the most contagious diseases known to man, is creeping back into the headlines, sweeping across Andalucia and surging past 1,000 cases in the US. So what’s really going on – and should you be worried?

Andalucia on alert: 72 cases and counting

Health chiefs in Andalucia have confirmed a sharp uptick in measles infections, with five new cases in just the last week, bringing the total this year to 72 cases and 13 outbreaks, according to Spain’s official figures at the Consejería de Salud.

While six of the outbreaks have now been stamped out, seven remain active, with clusters popping up in Malaga, Almeria, and Huelva. Most worrying? A growing number of cases are being traced back to imported infections, mainly from Morocco – a total of 17 cases so far, along with isolated imports from Belgium and Denmark.

One hotspot is Malaga’s Axarquia Hospital, where five people – including a traveller from Morocco – have been affected in a healthcare-linked outbreak. Meanwhile, in Huelva’s Lucena del Puerto and Moguer, family-linked clusters involving Moroccan workers have triggered local concern.

Even babies haven’t been spared. Eight children under the age of one were infected in a now-closed outbreak at a nursery in Fuengirola.

Health authorities are now racing to track down the unvaccinated, focusing especially on migrant groups and adults aged 26–47, many of whom slipped through the net in vaccination campaigns. Just two of the 72 known cases had a documented MMR jab. A shocking 35% of patients ended up in hospital.

The bottom line? If you’re not vaccinated, you’re vulnerable – and measles is far from the harmless childhood illness some still believe it to be. The Consejería has issued a blunt warning: ‘It spreads fast, hits hard, and can strike anyone – child or adult – if they’re not protected.’

Stateside surge: Second worst measles year since elimination

Across the Atlantic, things are even worse. The US has clocked more than 1,000 measles cases in 2025, according to CNN and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), making this the second worst year since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.

The epicentre? West Texas, where a spiralling outbreak has already spilled over into New Mexico, Oklahoma and possibly Kansas, with more than 800 cases linked to this single flashpoint. Experts fear these figures are a severe undercount, as many infections go unreported.

To put it in perspective, the US usually sees around 180 cases a year. Only once before – in 2019, with 1,274 cases – has the number breached the thousand mark.

CDC data reveals that just 4% of patients had received even one dose of the MMR vaccine. Hospitalisations are up too – 13% of cases have required treatment, and three measles deaths have already been recorded this year. That’s as many as the US saw in the past 20 years combined.

The vaccine gap: A ticking time bomb

So what’s behind the comeback of a disease that was nearly wiped off the map?

It’s not a virus on the loose – it’s complacency. Vaccination coverage has slipped below the safety threshold in too many areas, both in Spain and the US. Gaps in immigrant populations, vaccine scepticism, and disrupted healthcare access have all created fertile ground for outbreaks.

And measles doesn’t need much of a window. One infected person can cough in a room, leave – and the virus will still be hanging in the air two hours later, ready to infect anyone unprotected.

That’s why public health officials on both sides of the Atlantic are begging people to check their vaccination records. If you’re an adult who never got your second jab – or you’re unsure whether you were vaccinated at all – now’s the time to act.

The final word

With outbreaks popping up from Andalucia to Albuquerque, the message is clear; once measles gets moving, it moves fast. And unless immunity walls are rebuilt, it won’t stop at just a few hundred cases – it’ll be thousands.

More US news.

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