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Measles cases have now been reported in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee and the disease is expected to spread to Alabama, according to health authorities.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 626 measles cases were reported in 22 states, with outbreaks concentrated among unimmunized populations in New York City and Rockland County, New York; Washington State; New Jersey; Michigan; and Butte County, California.
No cases have been reported in Alabama but it is unlikely that the state will escape the disease, officials said.
"We will probably have one or more cases here in Alabama," said William Curry, MD, Monday, senior vice president for population health, UAB. "It's a very contagious and effective virus. Once launched into a vulnerable population, it will spread rapidly. If we have neighborhoods of people who are not immune and we are likely to see more than one case. "
Officials urge people to be vaccinated against measles and, if they fear that their vaccine is no longer effective, have their doctor perform a blood test. The vaccine is 97% effective against the disease.
Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, nearly 40 years after the first live measles vaccine was approved. In the decade before vaccination, an average of 549,000 measles cases and 495 measles deaths were reported each year in the United States.
Since 2000, the annual number of cases has varied from 37 in 2004 to 667 in 2014, with 2019 exceeding this number.
You can see information about the symptoms of measles here.
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