The measles outbreak across the globe continues to grow with several European nations — Albania, the Czech Republic, Greece, and the United Kingdom — losing their measles elimination status. Now, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, warns that the United States is at risk of losing this status as well.
A country is considered to have eliminated measles if no single strain of the virus has circulated for at least 12 months or more. These countries also have high vaccine coverage and good measles identification systems to eradicate any future outbreaks. The United States was declared to have eliminated measles almost two decades ago in 2000, a grand achievement in public health history. It was further proposed that measles would be eliminated worldwide by 2020 under the Global Vaccine Action Plan. However, this goal seems unlikely as the infection is fighting back with current outbreaks.
A country’s measles elimination status is lost when the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms that cases of measles have been spreading continuously for a year. In June, over 1,000 measles cases have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention thus far in the year, surpassing the highest record of cases since 1992. Outbreaks in New York City have been reported to be nearing 600 cases since last October. If this continues, the U.S. may lose measles elimination status with the growing number of cases. The U.S. will find out if their measles elimination status is lost within the next coming weeks. So far, 31 states within the U.S. have been confirmed with cases of the measles and this number may continue to grow at the rate that outbreaks are appearing. According to Kate O’Brien, director of WHO’s Department of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals, there still remains the risk of outbreaks in countries with high measles vaccination coverage due to smaller communities within the area that have insufficient vaccination coverage. To achieve herd immunity against measles, enough vaccinations must be made, especially in these smaller communities.
Communities with high measles vaccination coverage may be affected by small pockets of unvaccinated areas.
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