Measles cases in US triple from last year – NYC sees 11 cases in 2024

The number of measles cases recorded in the US this year is already three times higher than the total in 2023, stunning new data shows.

1,188 cases of measles in 26 states and Washington, D.C. — including one case in the northern part of the state and 11 in New York City, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The case occurred in the northern part of the state in January, but two of the cases in the five boroughs were reported in the past 30 days, CDC data shows.

In July alone, cases of measles have appeared in Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon and Vermont.

The Massachusetts case this month was the first in the state since early 2020.

CDC data shows cases peaked in late March, when 38 were reported in one week.

A smaller spike came in the week beginning July 7, when 12 cases were reported. Last week, six cases were reported.

Children under the age of 5 will account for almost half of all cases in 2024.

There have been no deaths from measles reported so far this year, but 93 patients have been hospitalized, the CDC said.

About 85% of people who have had measles so far in 2024 were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status.

Many of the cases were also linked to international travel, suggesting the disease was brought to the U.S. by people who were infected elsewhere, the CDC said.

“We live in a global community where vaccination rates everywhere impact the diseases that are transmitted in the United States,” Dr. Erica Prochaska, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, told NBC News.

“But the main problem is that the population of the United States is not yet at the vaccination threshold where we should be,” she added.

During the 2022-23 school year, 93% of US kindergartners had received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, down from 95% in 2019-20.

Twelve states had vaccination rates below 90%.

Experts say the decline is partly due to vaccine hesitancy, which has arisen from misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There have been 13 measles outbreaks so far in 2024, the largest of which occurred in March at a migrant shelter in Chicago and was responsible for nearly 60 cases, NBC reported.

Earlier this month, two people living at a migrant shelter in Clinton Hill tested positive for measles, sending staff on a desperate mission to determine how many of the 3,000 residents had been exposed to the disease.

In 2023, there were only 58 cases of measles and four outbreaks in the US.

This year’s numbers are the highest since 2019, when the US nearly lost its measles-free status after a string of more than 1,200 cases.

“If this year is worse than 2019, there is certainly potential for that,” Dr. David Hamer, a professor of global health and medicine at Boston University School of Public Health, told NBC.

However, data from the CDC indicates that a similar increase is unlikely.

According to a joint report from the CDC and the World Health Organization, the number of measles cases worldwide increased by 18% and the number of measles deaths increased by 43% between 2021 and 2022.

Measles symptoms usually appear seven to fourteen days after exposure to the virus.

Common symptoms include high fever, cough, watery, red eyes, and a clear rash.