Measles, a virus-borne respiratory illness, was once common in the United States. In the decade before 1963, measles infected 3 to 4 million people and killed 400 to 500 people in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Because of the measles vaccine, which was first developed in 1963, the disease was declared “eliminated” from the United States in 2000. This means that there was an absence of continuous disease transmission for 12 consecutive months and the disease was no longer native to the country. Since then, however, the United States has experienced many small outbreaks of measles, which were caused by people bringing it into the country from abroad. The vast majority of people who get measles in the United States are unvaccinated, according to the CDC, which advises that all children should get vaccinated. People choosing to keep their children unvaccinated for philosophical or religious beliefs — including the erroneous belief that vaccines can cause autism or other diseases — are becoming increasingly common. But this puts other people in danger, especially infants who are too young to get vaccinated and adults who cannot get vaccinated because they have a weakened immune system from HIV/AIDS, leukemia, cancer treatment, and other conditions, the CDC notes.
Measles Outbreaks in the U.S.
Between 2000 and 2013, there was a range of 37 to 220 measles cases reported in the United States each year. In 2002, the United States experienced the largest measles outbreak since 1999, before the disease was eliminated. Between October and November of that year, there was an outbreak of 13 confirmed cases of measles, which stemmed from an unvaccinated 9-month-old infant who just returned from the Philippines. The baby spread measles to 11 daycare attendees in Alabama that had yet to be vaccinated, as well as two adults. The next year, in 2003, the United States experienced its largest school outbreak of measles since 1998, in which nine students in a boarding school in eastern Pennsylvania and two other people were infected. The source of the 2003 outbreak was a 17-year-old student who had been vaccinated and just returned from a trip to Lebanon (though the measles vaccine is one of the most effective vaccines available, it still doesn’t provide measles immunity to 100 percent of people who take it). Various other outbreaks have also occurred, including:
A 2005 outbreak in Indiana, which originated with a resident who visited a measles-stricken RomaniaA 2007 multistate outbreak associated with an international youth sporting eventSeveral 2008 outbreaks, which largely involved people who chose to remain unvaccinated and keep their children unvaccinated
In 2014, the United States experienced 23 outbreaks affecting 644 people across 27 states — the greatest number of measles cases since it was eliminated from the country. Many of the cases sprang from measles-infected people who brought the disease in from the Philippines, which has been experiencing a large, ongoing outbreak.
2015 Disneyland Measles Outbreak
In 2015, more than 150 people from 17 states came down with measles, according to the CDC. Most of the cases are part of a measles outbreak linked to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Officials don’t know the source of the outbreak, but believe it began with a traveler or travelers who got infected with measles overseas and then visited the theme park. Of the 52 cases that were definitively linked to the Disneyland outbreak, over half of the people were known to be unvaccinated, but only a handful of them were underage for vaccination.
International Measles Outbreaks
Worldwide, 145,700 people — mostly children under 5 — died from measles in 2013, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This rate is significantly less than the 2.6 million people who died each year before 1980, when vaccination became widespread. However, measles is still one of the leading causes of childhood death across the globe, and the illness affects 20 million people each year, according to the CDC. In 2012 and 2013, a measles outbreak in Wales affected some 1,400 people, while northern England saw almost 1,000 reported measles cases. In general, Europe has seen an increase in measles since 2011, and large outbreaks (involving tens of thousands of people) have occurred in France, Romania, and the Ukraine, according to the Measles and Rubella Initiative. In 2014, the Philippines saw a large outbreak that affected over 21,000 people and claimed the lives of over 100 people. Numerous other countries have also experienced large measles outbreaks in recent years, including Pakistan, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sources:
