U.S. measles cases in 2024 have already surpassed the 2023 total

Today, 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who get measles are hospitalized, and roughly 1 to 3 out of every 1,000 children with measles die from complications, according to the CDC.

Measles cases have spiked in the last three months, driven in part by outbreaks centered in a migrant shelter in Chicago, an elementary school in southeast Florida and a children’s hospital and day care in Philadelphia. 

The United States had recorded 64 cases across 17 states as of Thursday, already surpassing last year’s total of 59, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most cases reported this year were linked to international travel, and the majority were among children who had not received a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Two doses of the vaccine are 97% effective, but the CDC said in an advisory to health care providers last week that "pockets of low [vaccination] coverage leave some communities at higher risk for outbreaks."

Chicago's case count had reached 33 as of Wednesday, including 22 cases among children under age 5. Most of the infections are connected to the ongoing outbreak that began at a migrant shelter in the Pilsen neighborhood. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/us-measles-cases-2024-so-far-rcna145013

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