At least 125 measles cases have been reported across 17 states so far this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday, up from 121 cases last week.
More cases have now been reported this year than in all of 2022, the most recent annual peak of measles infections.
Cases of measles had surged that year from outbreaks linked to unvaccinated Afghan refugees.
Doctors should now consider giving an “accelerated” second dose of measles vaccine to eligible young children, the city said.
That year, monthslong outbreaks of the virus among unvaccinated communities in New York drove the annual total to a record 1,274 cases — the most since the 1990s.
CDC officials so far do not expect this year to match 2019’s record case totals, while acknowledging the growing risk of outbreaks.
The agency’s disease forecasters estimated on April 4 that the U.S. would likely reach 300 measles cases this year, above most recent years.
“It’s important to remember that the overall measles outbreak risk to the general population is low; however, measles cases are increasing globally, increasing the chance of importations into the U.S. and subsequent risk of outbreaks, particularly in communities with low vaccination rates,” the agency’s forecasters wrote.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of measles cases reported this year has increased to at least 125 across 17 states, from 121 cases the previous week.
As of right now, this year’s cases have surpassed those from the entire year 2022, which was the most recent annual peak for measles infections. Measles cases had increased that year as a result of outbreaks connected to unvaccinated Afghan immigrants.
Despite a significant outbreak at a Chicago migrant shelter, which the city’s health department now reports has significantly slowed down in the wake of a major vaccination push, Illinois still has by far the highest number of measles cases this year.
Massimo Pacilli, a deputy commissioner for the Chicago Department of Public Health, recognized that the CDC had reported higher measles infection rates among those who had received all vaccinations during the outbreak. He attributed this to the virus’s intense spread within the cramped shelter.
“We are seeing prolonged exposures that are ongoing in this environment. Therefore, it is not entirely surprising to observe that a greater percentage of people who may have received a dose ultimately contract the measles, according to Pacilli.
The city on Friday alerted doctors to the growing number of cases that have been reported in the area without any connection to the shelter, even though the number of cases in the shelter has decreased. The city advised medical professionals to think about administering a “accelerated” second dose of the measles vaccine to young children who qualify.
The continuous “importations” of the virus by unvaccinated foreign visitors, according to the CDC last week, present a “renewed threat” to the U.S. S. status of having stopped the virus’s local spread, which was formally accomplished in 2000.
When officials last expressed fear in 2019, it was the U. s. might no longer be considered eliminated. Month-long viral outbreaks in unvaccinated communities in New York that year brought the annual total to a record 1,274 cases, the highest since the 1990s.
Although they are aware of the increasing risk of outbreaks, CDC officials do not currently anticipate that this year’s case totals will equal those of 2019.
On April 4, the organization’s disease experts predicted that the U. S. would probably surpass most previous years’ 300 cases of measles this year.
Though the risk of a measles outbreak to the general public is low overall, the number of measles cases worldwide is rising, which raises the possibility of importations into the U. s. and ensuing risk of outbreaks, especially in areas with low immunization rates,” forecasters for the agency wrote.
