United States: Measles infections are continuously spreading across the country, where 125 cases are now being reported across 18 states, according to the latest US government data.
As per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Friday report, there are more cases on the ground than were reported in the year 2022, as the most recent annual peak of cases was reported owing to measles infections.
What does the CDC report say?
According to the CD reports, till now this year, seven outbreaks have been witnessed, where 69 percent were outbreak-associated. In order to compare, when four outbreaks were reported in 2023, around 48 percent of the cases were outbreak-related.
Moreover, the agency also notified that they are working on not reaching the 2019 cases, as officials fear they would lose the US its measles elimination status.
In 2019, the total annual cases reached a record 1,274, which was perceived as the highest since the 1990s.
In the latest estimates, the prediction tells that this year, the highest number of cases are likely to reach more than 300, which is the highest since the most recent years, in US News reported.
More about the recent migrant shelter cases
The cases onslaught forced the authorities to push for a vaccination drive, which helped contain the infection’s spread. In March, Illinois saw a widespread case of meals coming from a migrant shelter in Chicago.
Massimo Pacilli, deputy commissioner for the Chicago Department of Public Health, said that the CDC reports regarding the rising infection cases among those people who have been vaccinated, which he has attributed to the fierce spread of the virus inside the densely packed shelter.
Pacilli mentioned, “In this setting, we’re observing continuing protracted exposures. And so it is not completely unexpected to see a higher proportion of individuals who may have had a dose end up being infected with measles,” as the US News reported.
Furthermore, when the cases of measles were contained in the shelter, the city cautioned doctors on Friday, where the rising number of cases were continuously being reported owing to having no link with the shelter.
Rising cases and international travel link
Last week, the CDC noted that the current “importations” of the virus via unvaccinated abroad travelers are posing a “renewed threat” to the United States, which had eliminated the local spread of the virus and gained itself an “eliminated” designation for measles in 2000.
Moreover, the CDC predictors wrote, “Rapid detection of cases, prompt implementation of control measures and maintenance of high national measles vaccination coverage, including improving coverage in under-vaccinated populations, is essential to preventing measles and its complications and to maintaining U.S. elimination status,” as the US News reported.