Measles cases surge to triple last year's — with 5 months to go

HEALTHWATCH
U.S. measles cases rise to at least 64 so far in 2024 — more than all of 2023
healthwatch
By Alexander Tin

Edited By Paula Cohen

Updated on: March 22, 2024 / 5:35 PM EDT / CBS News


The U.S. has now tallied at least 64 confirmed or suspected measles cases investigated so far this year by authorities in 17 states — more than the 58 cases reported nationwide in all of 2023. It comes as health officials are grappling with multiple major outbreaks of the highly contagious virus around the world.

Now with spring break travel picking up, health officials have ramped up pleas and updated their guidance for Americans to make sure they are up to date on the highly effective vaccines used to protect against measles.

Most cases have been linked to unvaccinated travelers exposed to the virus overseas. Some have also been linked to spread between states within the U.S..

"Declines in measles vaccination rates globally have increased the risk of measles outbreaks worldwide, including in the United States. Measles cases continue to be brought into the United States by travelers who are infected while in other countries," the CDC said in a March 18 advisory.

Friday's tally of measles cases from the CDC is up from 60 confirmed and suspected cases counted by CBS News at the end of last week. Additional infections have since been announced by local health authorities in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio.

"This is why it's urgent for us to sort of address vaccination so that we can really decelerate sort of the march of measles, given the global scenario as well as what we're seeing with some vaccination rates in the country," said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

While infections have climbed, Daskalakis said counts still remain small enough to make it difficult for officials to navigate privacy concerns in releasing additional demographic trends of cases so far. Investigations are also still ongoing to collect that information.

Daskalakis said the majority of cases so far have been linked to unvaccinated Americans returning to the U.S. with the virus.

"Measles is a easily preventable disease with a readily available and safe vaccine. And so, as we are seeing more cases in the U.S., we have the technology and the ability to be able to prevent measles," he said.

Here's what we know about the outbreaks so far this year.

Which states have reported the largest measles outbreaks in 2024?
So far this year, 17 states — Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington — have reported at least one case.

Illinois has reported the most measles cases in recent weeks, with 17 total infections reported in Chicago. Most were residents at a migrant shelter.

The CDC deployed a team to Chicago on March 12 to work with the city to investigate and curb the spread o