WASHINGTON, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 695 cases of measles from 22 states as of Wednesday afternoon.
This is the greatest number of cases reported in the United States since measles was eliminated from the country in 2000.
The epidemic started with a few large outbreaks in Washington state and in New York state, according to the CDC.
The outbreaks in New York City and New York state are among the largest and the longest lasting since measles was eliminated in 2000.
The CDC warned that the longer these outbreaks continue, the greater the chance measles will again gain a sustained foothold in the country.
In recent outbreaks, measles was imported when unvaccinated travelers visited a country where there is widespread measles transmission, gets infected with measles, and returns to the United States and exposes people in a community who are not vaccinated, according to the CDC.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported this month that there has been a 300 percent increase in the number of measles cases worldwide compared with the first three months of 2018. That increase is part of a global trend seen over the past few years as other countries struggle with declining vaccination rates.
A significant factor contributing to the outbreaks in New York is misinformation in the communities about the safety of the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine, as some organizations are deliberately targeting these communities with inaccurate and misleading information about vaccines, according to the CDC.
