measles outbreak

The Global Measles Laboratory is 'under severe threat of collapse' as U.S. pulls funding

4:19am March 20, 2025

by Gabrielle Emanuel

That's the perspective of a World Health Organization official after the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, which detects and controls measles, lost its sole funder.

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As the Texas outbreak grows, how contagious is measles, really?

7:00am February 28, 2025

Vaccination eliminated measles from the U.S. 25 years ago. But it can still spread in pockets where vaccination rates are low, like the west Texas county with a current outbreak. Here's how fast.

Students head to class this month in Thornton, Colo. Infectious disease experts say the decline in vaccination rates against childhood diseases during the pandemic has increased the potential for outbreaks of diseases once largely vanquished in the United

Health & Safety

Many Kids Have Missed Routine Vaccines, Worrying Doctors As School Starts

3:42pm August 26, 2021

by Yuki Noguchi

The pandemic has meant many kids have put off doctor visits and recommended shots. Experts worry that means some pockets of the U.S. are now more vulnerable to outbreaks of measles and meningitis.

Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, pictured in 2018, pleaded with the public not to turn to "alternative cures" for measles.

Samoan Government To Close Its Offices Amid Measles Crisis That Has Left 53 Dead

4:32pm December 02, 2019

by Vanessa Romo

Forty-eight of the fatalities were children under 4 years old. The number of immunizations plummeted last year after improperly prepared vaccines led to the deaths of two infants.

The measles virus is highly contagious. If someone with measles coughs or sneezes, the virus in those droplets can survive for two hours afterward — infecting about 90% of the people lacking immunity who pass through that space.

Millennial And Gen-X Travelers: Need Another Measles Shot?

6:43am September 02, 2019

by April Dembosky

Americans born in the '70s and '80s may not be immune to measles, health officials say. If you're traveling to a country or region having an outbreak, consider a second dose of vaccine before you go.

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Signs advertising free measles vaccines and providing information about measles are displayed at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, N.Y. The county in New York City's northern suburbs has had more than 200 measles cases since last fall.

Health & Safety

How Public Health Outreach Ended A 1990s Measles Outbreak And What's Different Now

7:21pm May 13, 2019

by Gwynne Hogan

This year's measles outbreak is the largest in recent memory. But from 1989 to 1991, more than 55,000 people got measles. Federal funding and parents embracing vaccines halted the outbreak.

A sign explaining the local state of emergency because of a measles outbreak at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, N.Y.

CDC Reports Largest U.S. Measles Outbreak Since Year 2000

9:14pm April 24, 2019

by Richard Gonzales

There are 695 cases in 22 states. HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the spike was "avoidable" and he called measles vaccines "among the most extensively studied medical products we have."

The Washington state Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would remove the personal belief exemption from the required vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella. Here, people protest the related house bill outside Washington's Legislative Building in

Washington State Senate Passes Bill Removing Exemption For Measles Vaccine

5:29pm April 18, 2019

by Laurel Wamsley

The bill removes the personal belief exemption from required childhood vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella. Seventeen states allow exemptions based on philosophical objections.

More than 285 cases of the measles have been reported in New York since October. Nearly all are associated with people who live in the Williamsburg or Borough Park neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

New York Declares Health Emergency As Measles Spreads In Parts Of Brooklyn

8:07pm April 09, 2019

by Vanessa Romo

"We cannot allow this dangerous disease to make a comeback here in New York City. We have to stop it now," Mayor Bill de Blasio said, announcing an order that calls for mandatory vaccinations.

Measles is a highly contagious illness that can cause serious health problems, including brain damage, deafness and, in rare cases, death. Vaccination can prevent measles infections.

Health & Safety

Defying Parents, A Teen Decides To Get Vaccinated

3:15pm February 09, 2019

by Amanda Morris

Ethan Lindenberger had never received vaccines for diseases like polio or measles because his mom is anti-vaccine. Now he's 18, he's finally getting his shots.

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