The Current State of Measles

<p dir="ltr">Before 2025, we didn't spend too much time talking about measles on this podcast, and that's because there wasn't much of a need to. But ever since the measles outbreak in West Texas began in January 2025, it's become a regular topic of discussion, with the U.S. now at more than 6,000 confirmed cases since the beginning of that year. In this week's episode, hosts Chris Dall and Dr. Michael Osterholm discuss the measles outbreak in Pennsylvania and the rest of the country. They’ll also cover some potential good news on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, answer listener questions about RSV and flu vaccines, and examine an uptick in exposure to rabid animals in the US.<br><br><em><strong>Correction: </strong>During the introduction, it is stated that there have been more than 6,000 measles cases since the beginning of last year. As of Friday 9/25, there have been a total of 5,948 cases reported in the US during that time frame.</em><br><br><em><strong>Content Warning: </strong>This week's dedication and closing include discussion of suicide and mental health. For listeners who prefer to avoid these sensitive topics, you can skip over the discussion at 03:38 - 05:44 and 52:08 - 56:38.</em><br><br><strong>Links:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.nami.org/stay-connected/events/awareness-events/suicide-prevention-month/">Suicide Prevention Month Resources</a> (National Alliance on Mental Illness)<br><br><a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2026/09/rfk-jr-s-faulty-claim-that-u-s-measles-response-is-better-than-any-other-country/">RFK Jr.’s Faulty Claim that U.S. Measles Response Is ‘Better’ Than ‘Any Other Country’</a> (Factcheck.org)<br><br><a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/amaone/vaccine-recommendations">Respiratory Virus Season Immunization Recommendations</a> (American Medical Association)</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/newsletter">Sign up for our Wildface newsletter!</a> (CIDRAP)</p> <p dir="ltr"><br>Resources for vaccine and public health advocacy:</p> <p><a href="https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/get-involved/"><strong>Voices for Vaccines</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://familiesfightingflu.org/take-action/"><strong>Families Fighting Flu</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://vaccinateyourfamily.org/get-involved/"><strong>Vaccinate Your Family</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://shotatlife.org/take-action/"><strong>Shot@Life</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://aspr.hhs.gov/MRC/Pages/index.aspx"><strong>Medical Reserve Corps</strong></a></p> <p>Learn more about the <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/vaccine-integrity-project"><strong>Vaccine Integrity Project</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/osterholm-update-covid-19"><strong>MORE EPISODES</strong></a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/support-cidrap"><strong>SUPPORT THIS PODCAST</strong></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Music:</strong></p> <p>"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)<br>Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License</p>