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The
United States declared measles eradicated from the country in
2000, but officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention warned on Thursday that the country risks losing
its measles elimination status.
There were a total of 963 U.S. cases of measles in 1992, the CDC
said in a statement.
The disease has spread mostly among school-age children whose
parents declined to get them vaccinated.
Public health officials blame the resurgence on the spread of
misinformation about vaccines. A vocal fringe of parents opposes
vaccines, believing, contrary to scientific studies, that
ingredients in them can cause autism.
"Measles is preventable and the way to end this outbreak is to
ensure that all children and adults who can get vaccinated, do
get vaccinated," CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a
statement.
"Again, I want to reassure parents that vaccines are safe, they
do not cause autism," Redfield said.
When measles was declared eradicated in the United States in
2000, it meant the virus was no longer continually present
year-round although outbreaks have still happened via travelers
coming from countries where measles is common.
Communities in New York City's Brooklyn borough and Rockland
County, an area of New York state about 30 miles (50 km) north
of Manhattan, are dealing with measles outbreaks that have
lasted nearly eight months.
Other measles cases have occurred in Oklahoma and Washington
state.
Decades ago, before widespread use of the measles vaccine, about
3 million to 4 million people a year became sick with the
disease in the United States with 400 to 500 deaths a year.
(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang
and Diane Craft)
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