U.S. measles cases continue to climb, with outbreaks across the country : NPR

Nearly two months after a deadly mass measles outbreak in Texas declared finished The highly contagious disease continues to spread across the country. The US has now confirmed 1563 cases this year is the highest annual total, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. for more than three decades.

But the real amount could be even higher, he says. Dr. Paul OffitDirector of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

“If you talk to people on the ground, including not only in Texas but in other states, they all say the same thing: the numbers are much worse. Probably about 5,000 cases,” Offit says. “And it's not done yet.”

He points to the current outbreak in South Carolina, where more than 150 unvaccinated students at two schools are now required to quarantine for 21 days after contracting measles. State Department of Public Health last week reported eighth confirmed case of measles case from September 25th. Public health officials say it is unclear whether this new case in Greenville County is related to the seven cases that are part of an ongoing outbreak in neighboring Spartanburg County, South Carolina.

“This new case tells us that there is active, undetected transmission of measles in the community,” Dr. Linda BellThe South Carolina state epidemiologist told reporters during briefing Thursday. According to her, it is extremely important that the population receives the recommended measles vaccination.

Meanwhile, a large measles outbreak in the Arizona and southwestern Utah border continues to grow. reported 55 cases this year as of Friday. Almost all cases occurred in people who were not vaccinated. Six people required hospitalization. Wastewater analysis shows the measles virus is more widespread in the state than previously thought, according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. In neighboring Arizona, officials said 63 cases so far this year.

And in Minnesota, officials last week reported that a small recent surge in measles cases had led to total for the year up to 20.

In general, the CDC confirmed There have been 44 measles outbreaks in 41 states this year. The agency defines an outbreak as three or more linked cases. The vast majority of cases have been in unvaccinated people; 27% percent were among children under 5 years of age. About 1 in 8 measles cases result in hospitalization.

Widespread vaccination in the US saves hundreds of lives every year

Measles is one of the most infectious diseases known to man. On average, an infected person will infect up to 18 other unvaccinated people. A person with measles can release infectious particles that linger in the air for up to two hours, even after they have left the room. That's why it's so easily transmitted.

Before widespread vaccination, almost everyone had measles as a child. And every year 400-500 people died from it in the United States.

The disease was declared eradicated in the United States in 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To protect the population from outbreaks, the vaccination rate must be 95%.

Measles vaccination rates across the country have been declining for years. now they are 92.5%. The trend predates the current administration, but Dr. Adam Ratner, a pediatric infectious disease specialist in New York, says it doesn't help that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a long history of criticizing vaccines. Ratner notes that acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill has proposed eliminating the standard measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. into three separate frameswhich Ratner says is impossible and not supported by data.

The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment Sunday.

“It's not surprising that parents are, you know, confused and scared,” says Ratner, the book's author. Accelerated shotshistory of measles control and its recent resurgence.

In some communities, child care vaccination rates are much lower than the national average. This creates opportunities for measles to spread, Ratner said.

“If a case of measles occurs in a place with low vaccination rates, it can really take off,” Ratner says. “This is what we saw in Gaines County,” the epicenter of the outbreak in Texas, where 762 cases and two deaths – “and this is what we see in many places.”