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The United States may lose its "elimination status" of measles if current outbreaks continue, the US health authorities said Thursday.
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 contracted the disease in the last five months compared to any calendar year since 1992, which saw 963 cases reported.
The authorities said measles was eliminated in the United States in 2000, a goal set in 1966 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 outbreak in and around New York that began last fall threatens the "elimination status" of the United States. If it stays four months longer, the country will no longer be able to say that it has 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 travelers with little or no vaccinations who have brought the infection from abroad – this 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, they do not cause autism. The greatest danger is the disease that vaccination prevents. "
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Last updated: Friday, May 31, 2019 KSA 7:40 AM – GMT 4:40 AM
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