The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 188 measles cases across 25 states, New York City, and the District of Columbia in July. This number is more than three times the cases recorded in 2023 and that was 58.
The CDC has also revealed that 43% of these cases involve children under 5 and 32% involve individuals that are aged 20 and older. 95% of them involve unvaccinated individuals, those with unknown vaccination status or those who received only one dose of the measles, rubella and mumps vaccine. This vaccine is 93% effective after one dose and 97% after its two doses.
Health officials have reported 13 measles outbreaks this year. The largest outbreak occurred in March at a migrant shelter in Chicago where they found 57 people infected with measles. This outbreak ended on May 30, after 42 days when they did not find any new cases. This shows a major increase in measles cases this year.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can infect up to 90% of individuals that are unprotected or have not taken vaccine. It shows some symptoms such as high-temperature fever and skin rash. These symptoms can last seven to 14 days. This illness can increase the risk of many serious health complications like brain swelling, pneumonia and death.
Measles was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000 as health officials conducted a successful vaccination program. But the number of measles cases has now increased due to declining vaccination rates among school going children and global cases.
In 2018, 382 cases were reported across 28 jurisdictions, and in 2019, 1,274 cases were reported across 31 states and it is the highest since 1992.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has recently confirmed one measles case in a person who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on July 26. It highlights the high-risk areas for measles exposure.
Health officials should arrange vaccination programs to reduce the risk of measles. They should consider vaccinating children and unvaccinated individuals. They should also make some effective strategies that can reduce the risk of possible outbreaks. It is very important for us to be very careful while dealing with those factors that can increase the risk.
