Measles cases in the United States have hit a 33-year high, with 1 288 confirmed infections in 39 states, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which said last week that the case count has passed the highest annual count since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.
Axios reports that while the disease isn’t consistently spreading – thanks to immunisation campaigns – there have been outbreaks well beyond West Texas, where low immunisation rates and high numbers of school exemptions stoked spread of the contagious virus early this year.
The country has seen 27 outbreaks so far this year, accounting for 88% of the cases. In comparison, there were 16 outbreaks across the entire year in 2024, with 69% of cases associated with those outbreaks.
There have been three confirmed deaths: 13% of the cases led to hospital admissions.
Of the 1 288 cases, 368 (29%) were in children under five and 469 (36%) were in children between five and 19 years old. In 92% of the confirmed measles cases, people were unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown.
A total 4% of the cases were in people who received just one dose or the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and another 4% in people who got the required two doses.
“The high case count represents an alarming low in today’s fight against vaccine-preventable disease,” the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease said in a statement.
“The rise in misleading claims about vaccine safety and benefits and resulting scepticism have spurred a dangerous decline in the country’s immunisation rate, contributing to this critical inflection point.”
Axios article – US measles cases hit 33-year high: CDC (Open access)
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