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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Thursday that 971 cases of measles had been reported in the United States since the beginning of the year, which means that more people have caught the disease during the last five months than any calendar year since 1994, which saw 963 cases reported.
The authorities said measles was eliminated in the United States in 2000, a goal set in 1963 with the introduction of the vaccine.
According to the CDC, measles is considered eliminated in the absence of continued transmission of the disease for 12 months or more in a specific geographical area.
An ongoing epidemic in New York and the surrounding area, which began last fall, threatens the "elimination status" of the United States – if it stays four months longer, the country will not more able to say that he eliminated measles.
Although the mayor of New York began demanding that the city's residents living in heavily affected areas, many with large Jewish Orthodox communities, be vaccinated from April onwards, there were still 173 cases this year. months and 60 in May.
The United States has never counted zero cases of measles. Since 2000, the number has fluctuated between a few tens and a few hundred cases per year, with 667 cases recorded during an outbreak in 2014 in Ohio, particularly in the Amish communities.
The resurgence of the disease is mainly due to unvaccinated or under-vaccinated travelers who brought back the infection from abroad – that is what happened last year when cases were reported throughout the country, from the Philippines, Israel and Ukraine.
"Measles is preventable and the way to end this epidemic is to ensure that all children and adults who can be vaccinated are vaccinated," said CDC director Robert Redfield.
"Again, I want to rebadure parents that vaccines are safe and that they do not cause autism.The biggest danger is the disease that vaccination prevents."
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