Measles outbreak grows to more than 1,200 cases reported in 30 states

The measles outbreak spreading across the country has spiked to 1,200 confirmed cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

In an update Monday, the CDC confirmed that there have been 1,203 individual cases in 30 states as of Aug. 15, an increase of 21 cases from the previous week.

Alaska and Ohio saw new cases for the first time early last month, bringing the total number of states affected by cases to 30, Reuters reported.

The outbreak is on track to be the worst since 1992 and since measles was declared “eliminated” in the United States in 2000.

{mosads}As of Aug. 15, 124 people who were diagnosed with measles were hospitalized. Sixty-four people reported “complications,” including pneumonia and encephalitis, according to the CDC.

The cases remain clustered in outbreaks in New York and New York City. In Rockland County, N.Y., there were 296 confirmed cases of measles from the start of January to Aug. 15 this year. Nearly 80 percent of county residents have not had any measles vaccines. 

As of Monday, there have been 654 confirmed cases of measles in New York City since September 2018.

However, the Monday update is not the worst jump the U.S. has seen in cases on a weekly basis. During the first week of June, there were 41 new cases diagnosed. On April 22, the CDC announced that there was an increase of 71 new cases from the previous week.

Active outbreaks, defined as three or more diagnosed cases of the measles, are currently ongoing in Rockland County; New York City; Washington state; Los Angeles County; El Paso, Texas; and Wyoming County, New York.  

The United Kingdom also lost its “measles-free” designation from the World Health Organization earlier this month. There were 489 confirmed cases of the disease in the country as of Aug. 7, compared to 285 cases in 2017, Newsweek reported.