U.S. has record cases of measles since disease was eliminated in 2000

Measles cases in the United States have now exceeded the highest number on record in a single year since the disease was eliminated in 2000.

Nationwide, at least 673 cases have been reported in 22 states in 2019, according to a tally by The Washington Post of state and local health department data on Wednesday. That’s more than the 667 cases reported in 2014, when one large outbreak primarily among unvaccinated people in Amish communities in Ohio accounted for more than half of the total that year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will provide an official update Monday. The agency is “currently receiving, reviewing, and validating reports of measles cases from state and local health departments,” spokesman Jason McDonald said.

CDC’s last update was 626 cases from 22 states on April 22.

This year, as in the past, the majority of people who have fallen ill were unvaccinated, officials have said. In some communities, antiimmunization activists have spread false claims about the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, causing concern among parents about inoculating their children. When many people in a community have not been vaccinated, the disease can spread quickly. It is one of the most contagious diseases in the world and can cause serious complications among all age groups, especially young children, adults with weakened immune systems and the elderly.

The states that have reported cases to CDC this year are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee and Washington.

The outbreaks are linked to travelers who brought measles back from countries such as Israel, Ukraine and the Philippines, where large measles outbreaks are occurring.

The CDC defines an outbreak as three or more cases. In addition to New York City, there are measles outbreaks in California; Rockland County, N.Y.; New Jersey; and Michigan.

The largest outbreak is in New York City, centered in a predominantly Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. There have been 334 cases this year, including 31 in just the past week, according to data posted Wednesday.

Measles, considered eliminated from the United States in 2000, leads not only to a fever and a rash, it also can cause pneumonia, encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain that can have long-term consequences, and death.

Measles spreads by direct contact with infectious droplets or through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.