CDC: U.S. measles cases hit 20-year high, will continue to rise

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

CDC: U.S. measles cases hit 20-year high, will continue to rise
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

As of May 23, 288 confirmed cases of measles have been reported in the United States this year, and that number will grow, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. This is the highest number since homegrown outbreaks were eliminated in 2000, USA Today says, and the highest tally for late May since 1994.

"This is not the kind of record we want to break, but should be a wake-up call for travelers and for parents to make sure vaccination records are up to date," said Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases.

In Ohio, all 166 measles patients this year are members of the Amish community; the CDC says that Amish missionaries brought the virus back from the Philippines. Cases have turned up in 18 states, and 90 percent of those patients have either never been vaccinated or are unsure. The highly contagious virus is spread by breathing, coughing, or sneezing, and because it is rarely seen in the United States, doctors may not recognize the symptoms: fever, red eyes, sore throat, a runny nose, and a red rash that shows up three to five days later.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.