The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday tallied the highest number of US measles cases since the disease was declared eliminated a quarter-century ago, just as a key Senate committee split the vote to advance President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the public health agency.

(Reuters) -Confirmed measles cases in the U.S. reached a total of 1,288, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday, rising above 2019 levels as the country battles one of its worst outbreaks of the childhood disease.

While Illinois has had eight cases of the virus so far this year, at least 1,288 cases have been confirmed nationwide, the most in more than 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC data shows 2025 is now the worst year for measles cases in this country in more than three decades. More than 150 people have been hospitalized due to the growing outbreak and three have died, including two unvaccinated children in Texas.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) called on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to immediately declare a public health emergency for measles, blaming the senior Trump administration official for failing to respond to the rapid resurgence of the disease.

Cases are rising in the U.S., but the CDC says most people who bring measles into the U.S. are unvaccinated residents who traveled internationally.

One Indiana county's health department on Wednesday, July 9, confirmed a case of measles. There's no outbreak, but experts recommend this vaccine.

Measles was declared eliminated from the United States 25 years ago. Now, the Centers for Disease Control reports major outbreaks of the virus happening across the country. This comes as vaccination rates in the country,