Measles outbreak infects 695, highest number since 2000

Donald G. McNeil Jr.

April 25, 2019 9:50 AM

The number of measles cases in the United States has risen to 695, the highest annual number recorded since the disease was declared eliminated in this country in 2000, federal health officials said Wednesday.

Measles outbreak infects 695, highest number since 2000

The total has now surpassed the previous high of 667 set in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus has been detected in 22 states.

Most cases are linked to two large and apparently unrelated outbreaks. One is centered in Orthodox Jewish communities in New York City and its suburbs; that outbreak began in October and recently spread to Orthodox communities in Michigan.

The other outbreak began in Washington state.

“The longer these outbreaks continue, the greater the chance measles will again get a sustained foothold in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement.

The virus mostly has stricken families that do not vaccinate their children, and the CDC blamed “organizations that are deliberately targeting these communities with inaccurate and misleading information about vaccines.”

The agency appealed to Americans to seek advice from their family doctors instead.

The New York outbreak was set off by Americans who had visited Israel, where cases have been spreading in Orthodox communities since early last year. City officials have taken extraordinary measures to crack down on resistance to immunization.

Rockland County, New York, the center of another outbreak, initially barred unvaccinated children from all indoor public places, including schools, malls, supermarkets, restaurants and houses of worship.

After a court blocked that order, the county instead barred from public spaces anyone who had measles symptoms or who had recently been exposed to the disease, threatening them with fines of up to $2,000 a day.

There have been no confirmed measles deaths in this country, but officials believe it is just a matter of time. Dozens of victims have been hospitalized.

Even with modern medical care, the disease normally kills about one out of every 1,000 victims, according to the CDC.

Measles is among the most contagious of diseases. Virus-laced droplets can hover in still indoor air for up to two hours.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Donald G. McNeil Jr.