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Record Number of Measles Cases Reported

July 14, 2023 at 1:00 PM EST.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is reporting a record number of measles cases this year in the United States. From January 1 to June 13, there have been 477 confirmed measles cases reported to CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). That’s the highest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in 2000 for the US.

Measles is still common in many parts of the world, including some parts of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. Travelers with measles bring the disease into the U.S., and it is spread when it reaches a community where there are members who are unvaccinated.

Before the routine use of the measles vaccine and the MMR vaccine, there was a high number of measles cases. There used to be about 500,000 cases of measles and 500 measles deaths each year in the US.

The rise in measles cases has changed the recommendations for measles vaccinations. While children routinely get their first MMR vaccine at 12 months and a booster at 4 years, if they are traveling overseas, doctors now recommend infants get first dose as young as six months old.

The CDC is warning that the Philippines is currently experiencing a large, ongoing measles outbreak. Many of the cases in the U.S. have been associated with cases brought in from the Philippines.