Measles seemed like an eradicated disease and something of the past thanks to the very high vaccination rates in our country. However, the most recent epidemiological data is clear: the virus is back and is beginning to circulate among us. This is something that was seen in January 2026 when the WHO withdrew to Spain the status of “measles-free country”. Now, the figures recorded in the first weeks of the year illustrate the size of the problem.
Local situation. Only in the Community of Madrid have been confirmed officially 24 cases of measles in the first seven weeks of 2026. To put this figure in perspective, we must know that in just a month and a half the total number of infections recorded in the region for the entire year 2025 has been exceeded.
Community circulation. What is truly alarming about the current Madrid outbreak is not only the absolute number of cases, but their nature. This is not something that can be perceived in a non-objective way, but rather the latest weekly epidemiological report of the Community of Madrid, published this February 17, explicitly confirms the community circulation of the virus.
Until recently, the vast majority of cases in Spain, What were the 108 reported in 2025?were imported from other countries, such as Morocco and Romania mainly. But this situation has completely changed, since the geographical dispersion of current cases and the absence of previous travel in the vast majority of patients demonstrate that the virus is being spread indigenously within our borders.
The profile of those affected. Among the 24 infections There are 13 women and 11 men, most of them being adults. But the most striking thing about all this is that 66.6% of those affected They were not vaccinated with the complete schedule.
It must be taken into account that measles is not a mild disease, but six hospitalizations have been recorded, four of them due to severe respiratory involvement.
It already transcends Madrid. The national data, centralized by the Carlos III Health Institute through its Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, reflect that the rebound is not a phenomenon isolated to the capital. Here it has been seen that only in these first weeks of 2026, 60 cases have already been registered nationwide, locating Madrid and Alicante as the main sources of contagion, although these figures are still provisional due to delays in notifications.
It comes long. This beginning of the year is the direct consequence of an upward trend that has been brewing for months. According to the Situation Report of the Ministry of Health published at the end of January, Spain closed 2025 with 397 confirmed cases, which represents a jump compared to the 227 infections in 2024. It was precisely this reestablishment of the endemic transmission documented between 2024 and 2025 that led the WHO to give us the wake-up call and revoke our virus elimination status.
European context. We are not alone in this crisis, since, according to ECDC data, measles continues to be a continental challenge. Although Europe fell from 35,000 cases in 2024 to 7,655 in 2025, the global trend is the same, since community transmission makes its way through gaps in vaccine coverage. In fact, the WHO European Regional Committee warns that 87% of those infected on the continent do not have the vaccination schedule.
What is being done. Given this scenario, the Ministry of Health has already made a move and is updating and reinforcing the Measles Elimination Plan with a clear objective: encourage vaccination in susceptible groups and break the chains of transmission thanks to herd immunity.
On the other hand, the Madrid health authorities have raised the alert level in health centers so that professionals keep this new situation in mind to request tests with the aim of confirming possible cases.
Images | AboutKidsHealth Community of Madrid
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