Measles – Multi-country (World) – Monitoring European outbreaks – Monthly monitoring

In September 2026, all thirty countries reported measles data. Thirteen countries reported 66 cases and 17 countries reported zero cases.

Overall, case numbers decreased compared with the previous month, however this may be subject to change in the event of a future retrospective update. The highest case counts were reported by Bulgaria (25), Italy (14), Germany (seven) and Norway (four).

In the most recent 12-month period, from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026, 30 EU/EEA Member States reported a total of 2 325 cases of measles, 2 030 (87.3%) of which were laboratory confirmed. 

Of the 2 325 cases with known age, 647 (27.8%) were in children under five years of age; 1 191 (51.2%) cases were in those aged 15 years and above. The highest notification rates were observed among infants under one year of age (55.9 cases per million) and children aged 1-4 years (28.0 cases per million).

Of 2 068 individuals (88.9% of all cases) with a known age and vaccination status, 1 484 (71.8%) were unvaccinated, 346 (16.7%) were vaccinated with one dose of a measles-containing vaccine, 190 (9.2%) were vaccinated with two or more doses, and 46 (2.2%) were vaccinated with an unknown number of doses.

During the 12-month period, zero deaths attributable to measles were reported to ECDC by any country. Detailed data are available in ECDC's Surveillance Atlas of Infectious Diseases.

Complementary epidemic intelligence surveillance was performed on 5 and 6 November 2026. An ongoing outbreak in EU/EEA has been reported in Portugal. Sporadic cases and clusters were reported in several EU/EEA countries. Updates are provided for several countries and regions outside the EU/EEA: Albania, Serbia, Kosovo*, Türkiye, England, Australia, Bangladesh, Africa CDC, the World Health Organization Pan American Health Organization (WHO PAHO), Japan, Canada, the United States (US) and Mexico.

Disclaimer: The monthly measles report published the ECDC public health events provides the most recent data on cases and outbreaks based on information made publicly available by the national public health authorities or the media. Sometimes this information is made available retrospectively. This report is a supplement to ECDC’s monthly measles and rubella monitoring report, based on data routinely submitted by 30 EU/EEA countries to EpiPulse Cases. Data presented in the two monthly reports may differ.

Epidemiological summary for EU/EEA countries with relevant epidemic intelligence updates

Austria reported ten confirmed or probable cases in 2026 and as of 4 November 2026 (an increase by one case since October).

Bulgaria reported overall 592 confirmed measles cases in 2026 as of week 44 (580 cases in week 40), majority of the cases were related to an outbreak that started in March 2026. The number of cases has been declining in recent weeks. The health authorities have administered over 80 000 doses of MMR in response to the outbreak.

France reported 114 cases of measles and no deaths from January to September 2026, an increase of one case since August 2026. No measles cases been reported in oversees departments and regions.

Germany reported 146 confirmed and probable measles cases in 2026 (week 1 to 45).

Hungary reported two cases in 2026 and as of 25 October.

Portugal reported nine new cases of measles in the region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo since 6 October: seven adults, one child and one infant. Three cases are imported and unrelated to one another; these involve unvaccinated individuals with a recent history of travel to a country with a high incidence of measles. The six remaining cases are secondary, originating from one of the imported cases. In total, since 1 January 2026, Portugal has reported 19 measles cases.

Spain reported 163 cases of measles from 1 January to 1 November 2026, including 17 imported cases.

Norway reported five cases of measles in 2026 as of 5 November.

Epidemiological summary for EU/EEA outermost territories with relevant epidemic intelligence updates

No new outbreaks or cases have been detected in the reporting period.

Western Balkans countries and Türkiye

No new outbreaks have been detected in the reporting period.

Albania WHO EURO reports a total of 173 cases in 2026.

Serbia, according to WHO EURO a total of five cases of measles were reported in 2026.

Kosovo* reported 269 confirmed cases of measles, according to media, citing the The National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo on 2 November 2026. Majority of the cases are children, and over 95 percent of confirmed cases have not been vaccinated.

Türkiye: according to WHO EURO, 1141 cases of measles were reported in 2026.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

Epidemiological summary for selected countries outside of the EU/EEA with relevant epidemic intelligence updates

England: between 1 January 2026 and 12 October 2026, there have been 1 030 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England (27 new cases since September 2026). The number of measles cases increased in February, peaked in May, and has declined and stabilised since then. The majority of the reported cases are in children. Half of the cases have been in London, 16% in the West Midlands, and 11%  in the North West. 

Australia has reported 123 cases in 2026, as of 6 November 2026.

Bangladesh is experiencing a major measles outbreak. According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), as of 5 November 2026 there had been 235 475 suspected measles cases, including 24 219 laboratory-confirmed cases, with 1 167 suspected or confirmed measles-related deaths.

Africa CDC reported on 11 October 2026, 11 735 confirmed and 168 998 suspected cases of measles and 1 788 deaths from 23 AU MS countries, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (124 930 cases and 1 648 deaths), Somalia (13 160 cases and 52 deaths), and Burkina Faso (10 930 cases and 31 deaths) top three by case count.

According to the WHO Pan American Health Organization (WHO PAHO) report published on 10 October 2026, 56 302 confirmed measles cases have been reported by 16 countries, the majority of which have been reported from Guatemala (34 400) followed by Mexico, US, Canada and Peru (2 554).

Mexico reported 13 645 confirmed cases of measles and 23 deaths in 2026 and as of 3 November 2026 (increase of 27 cases, and 0 deaths since 8 October 2026). The number of cases has been declining for a couple of months. Since the start of the outbreak in 2025, Mexico has reported 20 386 confirmed cases of measles and 50 deaths.

Canada reported 1 125  measles cases (1 045 confirmed) and no deaths across eight jurisdictions ( Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan) in 2026 and as of 2 November 2026 (data as of 24 October 2026). According to Canadian authorities, the multi-jurisdictional outbreak that started in October 2024 and has resulted in a total of 6 417 cases was declared over in October 2026. The vast majority of the cases 2062 were associated with this outbreak (1 032 cases, 951 confirmed).

The US as of 30 October, the US has reported 4 852 confirmed measles cases, including four deaths in 47 jurisdictions since January 2026. Of the reported cases, 18 were in international visitors to the US. Three more deaths associated with measles have been reported in the US in one week, one child died in New York State (press release of New York State Department of Health on 2 November 2026), one individual died in Pennsylvania State - a sixth death in the state in 2026 (press release Pennsylvania Department of Health on 4 November 2026), and an infant died in Wisconsin State (press release of Wisconsin Department of Health services on 5 November 2026).

Japan reported 581 measles cases as of 28 October 2026. The number of cases has been declining since the peak reported around week 17 this year.

For more information on the provisional number of cases outside the EU/EEA region, please visit the World Health Organization (WHO) website.

The numbers provided to WHO for EU/EEA countries are from EpiPulse Cases data, which are updated monthly and available on the ECDC Surveillance Atlas of Infectious Diseases. Due to differences in reporting times, the numbers may not correspond to the data from epidemic intelligence screening.

ECDC is monitoring the measles situation through its epidemic intelligence activities. Data collected via epidemic intelligence supplement the monthly outputs of measles surveillance data from EpiPulse Cases, which are routinely submitted by 30 EU/EEA countries.

ECDC urges EU/EEA public health authorities to focus on the following areas:

• Close immunity gaps, achieve and maintain high vaccination coverage for measles-containing vaccines (>95% with the second dose). It is vital to ensure first and second dose vaccinations are administered on time, as per national schedules among infants and children. It is also important to identify and vaccinate eligible individuals (for example, non-immune adolescents and adults) in immunisation catch-up programmes (as recommended by local and national authorities).
• Strive towards high-quality surveillance and adequate public health capacity, especially for early detection, diagnosis, response and control of outbreaks.
• Increase the clinical awareness of health professionals, including reminding them of the importance of checking individuals' vaccination status ahead of travel.
• Healthcare professionals should be fully vaccinated.
• Promote vaccine acceptance and uptake by employing specific risk communication strategies and identifying drivers of suboptimal MMR vaccine acceptance and uptake to ensure that tailored interventions are implemented in response.
• Address barriers and engage with populations underserved by healthcare services. Systemic barriers that affect vaccine uptake in populations that are isolated and underserved by healthcare services need to be monitored and addressed with targeted strategies in order to reduce inequalities in vaccine uptake.
• In light of the summer holiday season, travellers should check their vaccination status and consult their general practitioner to ensure they are up-to-date with recommended immunisations prior to departure.

ECDC's latest advice on measles is available in the Threat Assessment Brief 'Measles on the rise in the EU/EEA: Considerations for a public health response', published in February 2024, and its conclusions remain valid. Additional information on the risk classification and ECDC recommendations can be found in this report.