On July 8, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded 14 more measles cases, raising the year's total number of cases to 1,109, as two studies conducted in other nations highlight some advantages of early vaccination of babies.
Twenty-eight states have reported cases this year, but most cases have been part of large outbreaks. The CDC is tracking four ongoing outbreaks (3 or more related cases) in New York's Rockland County; New York City; Butte County, California; and Washington state.
"These outbreaks are linked to travelers who brought measles back from other countries such as Israel, Ukraine, and the Philippines, where large measles outbreaks are occurring," the CDC said.
Last year, the CDC recorded 372 measles cases, and officials confirmed 120 in 2017. This year's case count is the highest in the United States since 1992, and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.
As of Jul 1, New York City has noted 619 cases—10 more than the previous week—in a measles outbreak that began last September in predominantly Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn and Queens.
