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Measles outbreaks across North America are threatening the region's status of having officially eliminated the virus, officials from the Pan-American Health Organization warned, potentially undoing a hard-fought victory to wipe out community transmission. The U.N. agency pointed to a 4.5-times increase in reported measles cases this year across North and South America, compared to the same period last year. More than 97% of cases across the region so far this year have been in the U.S. or Canada. (Tin, 3/4)

One of the most contagious viruses in the world is spreading around the United States. So far in 2025 there have been three distinct measles outbreaks and at least 164 cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coming from nine states. The largest of the outbreaks is in West Texas, where the total number of people diagnosed with measles grew to 146 on Friday. An unvaccinated child in the region died last week. It was the first measles death in the U.S. since 2015. (Martichoux, 3/4)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is on the ground in Texas to aid the state in tamping down a measles outbreak, the agency said Tuesday. The agency in a statement on the social platform X said it has sent some of its Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) “disease detectives” to the West Texas region, the same day the state reported an additional 13 cases, bringing the total to 159. (Weixel, 3/4)

The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in Texas has grown to 159 -- an increase of 13 cases in the past five days, authorities said on Tuesday. The Texas Department of State Health Services updated its website with the new numbers Tuesday afternoon and said the majority of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or those whose vaccination status is unknown, with 80 unvaccinated and 74 of unknown status. At least 22 people have been hospitalized, two more than the last update on Friday, according to the DSHS. (Hutchinson, 3/4)

As a measles outbreak expands in West Texas, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, on Tuesday cheered several unconventional treatments, including cod liver oil, but again did not urge Americans to get vaccinated. In a prerecorded interview that aired on Fox News, Mr. Kennedy said that the federal government was shipping doses of vitamin A to Gaines County, the epicenter of the outbreak, and helping to arrange ambulance rides. (Rosenbluth, 3/4)

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s focus on vitamin A use to combat a growing measles outbreak in Texas is raising concerns among public health experts, who fear he is sending the wrong message about preventing the highly contagious disease and distracting from the critical importance of vaccination. (Sun and Nirappil, 3/4)