Measles was all be eliminated in the US just a few years ago, but it's making a comeback, sickening 127 people in 15 states, most of whom were not vaccinated against the virus, federal officials announced Wednesday.
Numerous news outlets have the story, announced by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The U.S. outbreak began in May with 70 confirmed cases, all of them traceable to travelers returning from 10 countries where measles vaccination rates are low: Switzerland, Israel, Belgium, Italy, India, Germany, China, Pakistan, Russia and the Philippines, the CDC said. The disease is highly contagious and very difficult to treat.
It has now spread to Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington state, and Washington, D.C.
Health officials and experts have associated the spread of measles with parents who choose not to immunize their children because they fear the vaccinations may result in autism or other complications.
"With the whole debate about vaccines - and now parents due to their personal beliefs not vaccinating their children - what we are seeing now is that we are going to have these epidemic outbreaks throughout the country," said Dr. Manny Alvarez, managing editor of health at FOXNews.com.
"If this continues, we will see outbreaks throughout the entire developed world - something we have never seen before," Alvarez said.
The current U.S. outbreak is the biggest since 138 people were reported sick in 1997, and 508 in 1996, the CDC said. The last serious domestic outbreak occurred from 1989 to 1991, when 55,000 Americans were infected and 123 died. Thanks to vaccines, transmission of the virus had been stamped out in the U.S. by 2000.
The disease causes fever, cough, redness and irritation of the eyes and a rash. Serious complications include encephalitis and pneumonia that can be fatal. It is a leading cause of death among children in poor countries, claiming about 250,000 victims each year.