Once Declared ‘Eliminated’ in the U.S., A Deadly Disease is Now Making a Comeback

From Dallas, TX, to every far-reaching point in the U.S., as of 2000, the deadly disease was considered "eliminated" in our country, but it appears to now be staging a comeback.

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According to Academic, "Measles elimination (interruption of endemic measles virus transmission) in the United States was declared in 2000; however, the number of cases and outbreaks have increased in recent years."

The same study found that "during 2001–2019, a total of 3873 measles cases, including 747 international importations, were reported in the United States; 29% of importations were associated with outbreaks." And concluded that "current epidemiology continues to support the interruption of endemic measles virus transmission in the United States. However, larger and longer outbreaks in recent post-elimination years and emerging trends of increased transmission in under-immunized communities emphasize the need for targeted approaches to close existing immunity gaps and maintain measles elimination."

Measles is most common in children. How Measles works is it "infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose, and a rash all over the body."

Measles Outbreak in Texas?

According to CBS News Texas, the main point of worry here is parents who haven't vaccinated their children for school. Data shows a big trend in parents not getting their children vaccinated in kindergarten. It's increased threefold. Texas which allows unvaccinated children to attend school with a conscientious exemption has jumped from 1.35% in 2013-2014 to 3.24% in 2022-2023.

In 2022, 121 cases of measles were reported in the United States. From January 1 to December 31, 2023, a total of 56 measles cases were reported by 20 jurisdictions. As of January 25, 2024, a total of 9 measles cases were reported.