Officials claim a lack of vaccinations have contributed to an increase in measles cases in the U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there have been 58 confirmed cases of measles in the U.S. so far in 2024. That same number represented the number of cases for the entire 2023, NBC News reported.
So far this year, 93% were linked to international travel, the CDC said, adding a majority of the cases were children 1 year or older who hadn’t received the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, vaccinations, per NBC.
“Healthcare providers should ensure children are current on routine immunizations, including MMR,” the agency said in an advisory to medical providers.
According to the CDC’s website, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minneapolis, Missouri, New Jersey, New York City, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington have had measles cases this year.
The U.S. isn’t alone. There have been outbreaks in Austria and the United Kingdom. As such, everyone of any age traveling to any international destination should be current on their vaccinations, the agency said in the advisory, per the outlet.
“Measles is highly contagious, and unvaccinated people have a 90% chance of becoming infected if they are exposed,” per NBC.
The disease can be fatal. In 2021, about 128,000 people, mostly children, died from measles, the World Health Organization said.
Even though measles was proclaimed “eliminated” in the U.S., cases have been on the rise.
For “elimination” status, there must not be continuous disease transmission for greater than 12 months or not constantly present in the country, according to the CDC.
in 2019, there was a 27-year high with 1,274 cases recorded. All of those cases were unvaccinated or under-vaccinated people who traveled in the U.S., the CDC said.
