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(Reuters) – The United States has registered 12 new cases of measles last week, bringing the total number of cases for the year to 1215 in 30 states of the largest epidemic since 1992, said Monday. federal health officials.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the number of cases of this highly contagious and sometimes fatal disease increased by 1% between August 15 and August 22.
Sign of signs of slowing the epidemic, the CDC has reported in recent weeks a smaller increase in the number of measles cases, compared to the dozens of cases reported each week earlier this year.
The disease was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, which means that there has been no continuous transmission of the disease for one year. Nevertheless, cases of viruses occur and spread through travelers from countries where measles is common.
On Friday, California health officials said that a New Zealand teenager with measles had visited Disneyland and other popular sightseeing tours in southern California earlier this month, likely infecting her. Other people.
CDC officials warned that the country was at risk of losing its measles elimination status if the epidemic, which began in October 2018 in the state of New York, would continue until the end of the epidemic. in October 2019.
Lack of immunization poses a public health risk to vulnerable people who are unable to receive the vaccine, health officials said.
(Report by Gabriella Borter in New York and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru, edited by Bernard Orr and David Gregorio)
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