So far in 2024, more than 80% of measles cases have been in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown, according to CDC data.
Elaine Thompson/AP
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Elaine Thompson/AP
So far in 2024, more than 80% of measles cases have been in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown, according to CDC data.
Elaine Thompson/AP
An increase in measles cases, caused largely by people not getting vaccinated, poses a “renewed threat” to the 2000 declaration that the highly contagious airborne disease had been eliminated in the United States. United.
“The measles elimination status of the United States will continue to be threatened by the global increase in measles incidence and decreasing measles vaccination coverage at the global, national, and local levels,” a the CDC said in a report released Thursday. Elimination status means that the disease is no longer permanently present in the country.
So far this year, the country has recorded more than 120 cases of measles, according to CDC data. That’s more than double the number reported for all of last year.
The CDC said that “the rapid increase in the number of measles cases reported during the first quarter of 2024 poses a renewed threat to elimination.”
The chances of widespread measles transmission in the United States remain low given the country’s “strong population immunity,” the agency added. But the increase in cases is particularly dangerous for infants and undervaccinated communities.
This increase occurs five years after the arrival of measles cases. the highest level in more than two decades. In 2019, the CDC documented more than 1,200 cases in 31 states, largely in undervaccinated communities in New York state.
Measles is also on the rise globally. According to the World Health Organization, there were approximately 9 million cases in 2022, an increase of 18% from 2021. The number of deaths increased by 43% in 2022 compared to the previous year .
What the CDC data says
Almost half of the cases so far this year it has been children under 5 years old. Nearly a third came from adults 20 and older.
Cases are usually linked to people who have traveled abroad. But vaccine skepticism and communities with low vaccination rates have also contributed to the rise.
CDC data showed that more than 80% cases this year involved people who were not vaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. About 13% cases involved people who had only received a single dose of the measles vaccine. Public health officials recommend two doses.
As of April 4, 17 states had recorded cases, with Illinois and Florida experiencing the highest number of sick patients.
Why a measles epidemic is dangerous
Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose, white spots inside the mouth, and rash that spreads throughout the body. Most cases are mild, but they can sometimes lead to brain swelling, pneumonia and death.
The danger lies in the contagiousness of measles. If an infected person coughed in a room, 90% of unvaccinated people in that room could get sick.
Federal health officials recommend that all children receive two doses of the measles vaccine: the first dose between 12 and 15 months of age and a second dose between 4 and 6 years of age.
Adults who plan to travel abroad and women who plan to become pregnant should check their vaccination status, the CDC said.
What it would take for the United States to lose its measles elimination status
Before a vaccine was introduced, the disease killed hundreds of people and sickened most children in the United States before the age of 15. Everything changed in 1963 when a vaccine became available.
In 2000, measles was declared eliminated from the United States, meaning the disease was no longer “constantly present,” according to the CDC. But the United States risks losing its elimination status if a measles outbreak continues for a year or more, the agency added.
Dr. Allison Bartlett, professor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago School of Medicine, told NPR Saturday Weekend Edition that the increase in cases is a “very serious warning signal”.
“This is a very, very vaccine-preventable disease. But it requires very high levels of individuals to be vaccinated,” Bartlett said earlier this month.
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