Noah McCrory
At least 125 measles cases have been reported in 17 states so far this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. he said Friday, up from 121 cases last week.
More cases have been reported this year than in all of 2022, the most recent annual peak of measles infections. Measles cases have increased that year of outbreaks linked to unvaccinated Afghan refugees.
Illinois continues to be the state with by far the highest number of measles cases this year, after a large outbreak at a Chicago migrant shelter that the city’s health department says now has slowed down significantly following a large vaccination drive.
Massimo Pacilli, deputy commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, acknowledged the C.D.C. reports of higher rates of fully vaccinated people contracting measles during the outbreak, which he attributed to the intense spread of the virus within the densely packed shelter.
“In this scenario, we are seeing prolonged and continuous exposures. And so it’s not completely unexpected to see a higher proportion of individuals who may have had one dose end up infected with measles,” Pacilli said.
Although cases at the shelter have declined, the city warned doctors on Friday that an increasing number of cases were reported in the region with no link to the shelter. Doctors should now consider administering an “expedited” second dose of the measles vaccine to eligible children, the city said.
The C.D.C. said last week that continued “imports” of the virus via unvaccinated international travelers now represent a “renewed threat” to the US status of having eliminated the local spread of the virus, which was officially achieved in 2000.
Employees last saying in 2019, they feared that the US could lose its elimination status. That year, months-long outbreaks of the virus among unvaccinated communities in New York raised the annual total to a record 1,274 cases — the highest number since the 1990s.
So far, CDC officials don’t expect this year to match 2019’s record case totals, though they acknowledge the rising risk of outbreaks.
The agency’s disease forecasters estimated on April 4 that the U.S. would likely reach 300 measles cases this year, higher than in more recent years.
“It is important to remember that the overall risk of a measles outbreak for the general population is low; however, measles cases are increasing globally, increasing the likelihood of imports into the US and the subsequent risk of outbreaks, particularly in communities with low vaccination rates,” the report said. the agency’s meteorologists wrote.
