Measles is reasserting itself in the US in a way not seen in decades. A Johns Hopkins tracker puts this year's case count at 2,295, already topping last year's total and marking the highest total since 1991. Most infections are among people who aren't vaccinated, reports Axios, and the rise is putting pressure on the country's hard-won measles elimination status, which global health authorities are slated to reassess in November. Public health officials say overall immunization rates remain relatively strong, but warn that coverage must stay above 95% to preserve herd immunity. "The fact that we've reached this total this early in the year is really a reflection of those large outbreaks earlier in the year, particularly in South Carolina and Utah," William Moss, professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, tells the Washington Post. "It's very frustrating."
Texas, Florida, and Arizona are also among the hardest-hit states. The CDC's latest tally, from July 16, listed 2,260 confirmed cases and 34 outbreaks this year. Measles typically starts with fever, cough, eye irritation, and a characteristic rash, but can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, permanent brain damage, and death; on average, it kills between one and three of every 1,000 infected children. The surge comes as several top federal health posts remain unfilled and after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who initially played down the threat, later emphasized that the MMR shot is the most effective tool to curb spread, while calling vaccination a personal decision.
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