U.S. measles cases surpass 2023 levels, CDC says

There have now been 64 cases of measles in the United States this year, surpassing the total of 58 cases in all of 2023, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The increase in cases would “alarm us rather than alarm us,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC. Most communities across the country have vaccination rates high enough to provide robust protection against the disease. highly contagious virus, he said. Even after the increase, the number of cases is still significantly lower than in 2019, when more than 1,200 people were infected, more than two-thirds of whom were children.

But health experts said the milestone is a troubling reminder that even though there is an effective vaccine against the virus, measles remains a persistent threat to public health.

What causes measles to spread?

Doctors say there are several factors contributing to the spread of measles, cases of which have increased around the world in recent years. Many cases reported in the United States this year were linked to international travel, according to the CDC, as travel destinations such as Britain, Austria and the Philippines have had outbreaks. Many of the people in the United States who have become infected are unvaccinated children aged 12 months and older.

Routine vaccinations for children, including the two-dose vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella, came to a halt when the pandemic took hold. At the same time, vaccine hesitancy has become increasingly common, says Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In general, a community is protected against measles if more than 95 percent of the people in it have been vaccinated. But state required vaccinations among preschoolers in the United States fell from about 95 percent in the 2019-2020 school year to about 93 percent in the 2022-2023 school year.

This gap in vaccination has left approximately 250,000 preschoolers vulnerable to measles each year over the past three years, according to the CDC. vaccine exemptions for children has also increased, underscoring the challenges posed by vaccine hesitancy.

“People use the term ‘personal choice’, ‘individual freedom’, ‘bodily autonomy’ – this is a contagious disease,” said Dr. Offit. “You make a decision for yourself and others you come into contact with.”

Barriers to access to the vaccinations may also be partially responsible for the rising number of cases in the United States. Experts say some parents may not be aware that they can get their children vaccinated for free, either through private insurance or through the Vaccines for children program.

Parents might also wrongly assume “that measles is a mild disease,” says Dr. Sean O’Leary, professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Most cases cause fever, coughing, runny noses, red eyes and a telltale rash. In some cases, people can develop pneumonia and swelling of the brain that leads to deafness or intellectual disability. “It’s potentially a very serious disease,” said Dr. O’Leary.

About one in five people in the United States who are infected with measles and not vaccinated end up in the hospital, according to the CDC. And as many as one in twenty children with measles develop pneumonia, the most common cause of death from measles in young children.

So far, cases have been reported in at least 17 US states: Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Florida.

In Florida, the state surgeon general issued guidelines that contradicted widespread medical advice and allowed parents to send unvaccinated children to school during a measles outbreak.

How to protect against measles

Vaccination is “the most powerful thing parents can do to protect their children from measles,” said Dr. Offit. Two doses of the vaccine are about 97 percent effective at preventing measles. The CDC generally recommends that children receive the first dose starting at age 1 and the second dose starting at age 4. However, in some cases, especially when outbreaks are spreading, children under age 1 may be able to get vaccinated, said Dr. Daskalakis.

On Monday, the CDC issued a health advisory encouraging parents to vaccinate children over six months before traveling internationally, regardless of their destination.

Doctors may recommend vaccination for certain people with compromised immune systems, such as people undergoing chemotherapy.

Dr. Daskalakis encouraged parents to talk to their pediatricians about vaccination. These types of conversations – parents seeking health information directly from doctors they trust – can be a vital tool in what Dr. Daskalakis considers it an ‘uphill battle’.

“Given the impact on vaccine confidence that we’ve seen post-Covid, and during Covid,” he said, “I think we just need to keep that drumbeat going.”