A measles outbreak that spread into New Mexico last year cost nearly $5.4 million to contain, according to a new study, highlighting the enormous financial toll of a disease that health officials say is largely preventable through vaccination.

Researchers from the New Mexico Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the 2025 outbreak cost an average of more than $53,000 for each of the state’s 100 confirmed cases.

The outbreak began in an undervaccinated community in neighboring Texas in January 2025 before spreading into New Mexico the following month. The CDC declared the outbreak over in September 2025.

The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found the $5.4 million total included medical care for patients, extensive public health response efforts and lost productivity among infected people, caregivers, exposed contacts and health workers.

Public health measures accounted for about $3.2 million of the total cost, including roughly $2.1 million spent on vaccination-related activities.

Direct medical expenses totaled about $290,000, including $238,000 for seven hospitalizations, $32,000 for 79 outpatient visits and $20,000 for more than 1,200 laboratory tests.

Lost productivity added nearly $1.6 million to the overall bill after patients, caregivers and hundreds of exposed contacts missed work while isolating or quarantining. The total also included the economic impact of one patient who died during the outbreak.

Researchers noted the estimate likely understates the true cost because it did not include expenses such as travel, over-the-counter medications and other out-of-pocket costs.

The report comes as the United States experiences its worst measles resurgence in decades.

More than 2,300 cases have been confirmed nationwide so far in 2026, already surpassing last year’s total and marking the highest annual case count in 35 years. Health officials have largely blamed the increase on declining vaccination rates.

Katherine Wells of Lubbock Public Health, who was not involved in the study but wrote separately about the Texas outbreak, said outbreaks place a far greater burden on communities than case numbers alone suggest.

“When people hear that Lubbock had 50 measles cases in 2025, they often picture something manageable,” Wells wrote. “That is not what 50 measles cases look like.”

She said every infection triggers a chain reaction of contact tracing, quarantines, vaccinations and disruptions that strain public health systems.

“Until we account for the full cost of outbreaks, not just the cases but the consequences, we will continue to underestimate their impact and undervalue the systems required to prevent them,” she wrote.