The United States has had more cases of measles this year than any time since the disease was declared eliminated in the country 25 years ago, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Outbreak Response Innovation.

So far there at 1,277 confirmed cases.

A majority of them stem from a large outbreak in Texas, however there have been cases in 38 states and the District of Columbia.

Three cases have been confirmed in Maryland so far in 2025.

Measles is highly contagious and one in five people who contract the disease end up in the hospital.

The disease has been in a resurgence in recent years as vaccine skepticism has been on the rise.

Medical officials say the best way to prevent contracting measles is vaccination.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vaccination is 97% effective against the disease.

Maryland currently has one of the highest vaccination rates in the nation for measles.

“Measles is very infectious and requires what's called a herd immunity threshold of around 95%,” said Lauren Gardner, director of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering. “That means you want about 95% of a population to be protected through vaccination to prevent outbreaks of measles happening in that location.”

All of Maryland’s counties hit the 95% threshold.