April 2019
CDC Announces 71 More Measles Cases.
The AP (4/22) reports that there were 71 more measles cases in the US last week, and 68 of them were in New York, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have now been 626 total cases so far this year, and the article points out that there were 667 cases in all of 2014 and 963 in 1994.
The Wall Street Journal (4/22, Subscription Publication) reports that health officials expect this year’s total to surpass that of 2014, which would make 2019 the worst year since 2000 when the disease stopped continuous circulation and was declared eliminated. The article notes that the largest outbreak so far this year has been centered in New York City’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and that New York City has ordered people living in certain neighborhoods to be vaccinated or pay a $1,000 fine.
ABC News (4/22) reports on its website that 194 of this year’s cases have been in New York’s Rockland County and according to local health officials, 80.8% of those infected in the county never received an MMR vaccine.
Reuters (4/22) reports that last week, Iowa and Tennessee reported their first cases of measles this year.
USA Today (4/22) reports that Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement that the reemergence of measles “deeply concerns us.” Marks added, “We cannot state strongly enough: The overwhelming scientific evidence shows that vaccines are among the most effective and safest interventions to both prevent individual illness and protect public health. Vaccinating against measles, mumps and rubella not only protects us and our children, it protects people who can’t be vaccinated, including children with compromised immune systems due to illness and its treatment, such as cancer.”
NBC News (4/22) reports on its website that Dr. Steven J. Goldstein, a pediatrician in Brooklyn and president of the New York Chapter 2 of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the measles outbreak is straining families and their physicians, “When there is a child in your practice with measles or it turns out the child has measles later, you have to close the office and investigate; you have to contact everybody who was in the practice at or around the time of exposure. Everyone needs to be notified about that possible exposure.”
Measles outbreaks in the United States are ongoing. For data as of August 15, visit Measles Cases and Outbreaks.
Most measles cases in the U.S. are related to international travel. Make sure you and your loved ones are protected before you travel internationally.
Visit Measles: For Travelers.