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U.S. measles cases have been the highest since the country eliminated the disease in 2000, according to a tally of data from the NBC News’ state health department.
Earlier this year, the US recorded its first measles death in 10 years. He has two children from Texas and an adult from New Mexico. Everything was not vaccine-connected.
For the past 25 years, measles has been considered to be excluded in the United States. This is because it has not spread continuously over a year.
However, there are regular outbreaks, including one that took off in the Mennonite community in western Texas earlier this year. Vaccination rates in Gaines County, the heart of the outbreak, are particularly low. As of the 2023-24 academic year, 82% of kindergarteners in the county received two curb doses, mumps and the Levella vaccine (MMR) vaccine.
Dr. David Sgelman, a senior scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a meeting of the CDC’s Vaccine Advisory Committee in April that in order for the United States to lose its exclusion status, he must continue to spread measles until January 20th next year.
Most cases so far this year have been linked to Southwest outbreaks – there have been over 700 cases in Texas alone, but many small outbreaks due to international travel have been detected throughout the US.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new warning urging travelers not to fly unless they are vaccinated from measles.
The revival of measles is believed to be partly due to a decline in vaccination rates worldwide and nationwide. From 2023-24, under 93% of American kindergarteners received the recommended two MMR vaccines from 95% of 2019-20 grades.
The West Texas outbreak is similar to the 2019 low vaccination rates among New York’s Orthodox Jewish community. The United States recorded 1,274 cases that year. The vaccine order in New York City and a vaccination campaign involving officials administering 60,000 doses in affected communities have contained the spread.
New York’s response was “an incredible feat and obviously something we are trying to emulate.” However, he said the loss of the Covid grants created “finance limits” in Texas. The CDC drastically cut its $11.4 billion in Covid funds last month. Some of it has helped the state health department respond to the outbreak of illness. Each measles case can cost between $30,000 and $50,000 to deal with.
Many disease experts have also expressed concern that federal messages about vaccines could make it difficult to control the outbreak. Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is asking people to get a measles vaccine, but he also framed the vaccine as a personal choice, highlighting unproven treatments like steroids and antibiotics, falsely claiming that immunity from the measles vaccine will decline rapidly.
Dr. Anna Montanes, a pediatrician who treats patients in Lubbock and Gaines County, said at a press conference in April that the misinformation was the “biggest nemesis” of healthcare providers. She said she knew some of the patients who were taking Vitamin A instead of getting vaccinated. Kennedy has played a role as vitamin A in helping patients with measles, but it is unclear how beneficial it is. The CDC says Vitamin A can be administered under the supervision of a health care provider, but that is not a treatment for the disease.
“It was a struggle and an upward struggle to combat the misinformation about using vitamin A to treat measles,” Montanes said.
Dr. Diego Hijano, a pediatric infection expert at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, answers questions about how MMR vaccines can protect children from measles.
In contrast, two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective against measles and provide lifetime protection. This virus is particularly dangerous for young children whose immune system is not always developed enough to fight infections. In Texas, authorities recommended early doses for babies between 6 and 11 months old. According to the state, unvaccinated children who have been 12 months or longer must get a single dose.
Measles often start with a high fever, cough, runny nose, pink or watery eyes. From there, people may develop white spots on the inside of their cheeks near the molars, causing a rash with flat red spots. Severe cases can progress to pneumonia and swelling of the brain.
According to the CDC, about 1-3 of the 1,000 children with measles have died from respiratory and neurological complications.
This story first appeared on nbcnews.com. More from NBC News:
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