Nearly 20 years ago, health officials determined that measles had been eliminated in the United States.
Amid declining vaccination rates, the dangerous disease, which can still be spread hours after an infected individual leaves an area, is now back in a big way.
More measles cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the first three months of 2019 than all of 2018.
Following 167 measles cases in New York’s Rockland County, which were linked to an unvaccinated person who traveled abroad, the county imposed an emergency order barring unvaccinated children from appearing in public.
Nine California counties have reported cases of the disease in 2019. A hospital in Sacramento notified hundreds of patients and visitors of possible measles exposure last week after an unvaccinated child was treated in its emergency room.
But it’s not just coastal states that have seen a recent rise in measles, as Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Texas are also among the 15 states with reported cases in 2019.
The rate of unvaccinated children under the age of two has risen by almost 450% since 2001, per the CDC. Only California, Mississippi, and West Virginia don’t allow non-medical exemptions from vaccinations. Most exceptions in other states are related to religious opposition, though 17 states allow exemptions over moral concerns.
Despite the rapid increase in measles outbreaks, bills to increase exemptions from vaccinations have been introduced in at least 20 state legislatures in 2019.
Social media platforms have been cited as major contributors to the the spread of anti-vaccine misinformation. A 10-year study published last month by Danish researchers confirmed that the measles vaccine “does not increase the risk for autism,” as has been alleged by so-called “anti-vaxxers.”
CDC data shows how the spread of serious diseases was curtailed by the introductions of vaccines.
