(Axios) – The record-large measles outbreaks occurring across 22 states continue to grow, with a total of 704 cases through Friday, according to new data released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. measles outbreaks so far this year have eclipsed all other outbreaks in any year since the virus was declared eradicated in the country in 2000. The total number of cases has been dominated by three outbreaks in particular, including a large outbreak in Washington state,
two ongoing outbreaks in New York and an ongoing outbreak in California. The New York outbreaks have been the largest individual outbreaks on record since 2000, a CDC official told reporters on a press call. Measles is a preventable, sometimes deadly illness against which a safe and effective vaccine exists. The U.S. outbreaks have been touched off by travelers coming into the U.S. from regions where measles outbreaks are ongoing. The disease is then spread in regions where there was not sufficiently high levels of immunization. READ MORE
