
Measles roars back in the US, topping 1,000 cases
The surge comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to undermine confidence in the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine -- a highly effective shot he has falsely claimed is dangerous and contains fetal debris.
An AFP tally showed there have been at least 1,012 cases since the start of the year, with Texas accounting for more than 70 per cent.
A vaccine-skeptical Mennonite Christian community straddling the Texas-New Mexico border has been hit particularly hard.
A federal database maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lagged behind state and county reporting, as the globally renowned health agency faces deep workforce and budget cuts under President Donald Trump's administration.
North Dakota is the latest state to report an outbreak, with nine cases so far. Around 180 school students have been forced to quarantine at home, according to the North Dakota Monitor.
"This is a virus that's the most contagious infectious disease of mankind and it's now spreading like wildfire," Paul Offit a pediatrician and vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia told AFP.
He warned the true case count could be far higher, as people shy away from seeking medical attention. "Those three deaths equal the total number of deaths from measles in the last 25 years in this country."
The fatalities so far include two young girls in Texas and an adult in New Mexico, all unvaccinated -- making it the deadliest US measles outbreak in decades.
It is also the highest number of cases since 2019, when outbreaks in Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and New Jersey resulted in 1,274 infections but no deaths.
- Vaccine misinformation -
Nationwide immunisation rates have been dropping in the United States, fueled by misinformation about vaccines, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The CDC recommends a 95 per cent vaccination rate to maintain herd immunity.
However, measles vaccine coverage among kindergartners has dropped from 95.2 per cent in the 2019-2020 school year to 92.7 per cent in 2023-2024.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus spread through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or simply breathes.
Known for its characteristic rash, it poses a serious risk to unvaccinated individuals, including infants under 12 months who are not ordinarily eligible for vaccination, and those with weakened immune systems.
Before the measles vaccine's introduction in 1963, it is thought that millions of Americans contracted the disease annually, and several hundred died. While measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, outbreaks persist each year.
Susan McLellan, an infectious disease professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch, pushed back against messaging that promotes remedies like Vitamin A -- which has valid but limited uses -- over vaccines.
Kennedy has led that messaging in frequent appearances on Fox News.
"Saying we're going to devote resources to studying therapies instead of enhancing uptake of the vaccine is a profoundly inefficient way of addressing a vaccine-preventable disease," she told AFP.
McLellan added that the crisis reflects broader erosion in public trust in health authorities.
She said it is hard for an individual untrained in statistics to understand measles is a problem if they don't personally see deaths around them. "Believing population-based statistics takes a leap, and that's public health." - Issam Ahmed / AFP
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Covid-19 fears prompt mass screening at Thai prison
KOTA BARU: Following a recent outbreak in Thailand, nearly 4,000 family members of Narathiwat prison inmates, including some from Malaysia, were screened for Covid-19 to prevent the spread of the virus within the correctional facility. The prison's Prisoner Development Division director Somsak Paddeang said the five-day mass screening programme, which began on July 21 and concluded yesterday, was held within the prison compound. "The screenings are a preventive measure following the rise in Covid-19 cases in Thailand. "We want to protect the health of the inmates and staff," he added. According to Somsak, the swab tests were conducted by nearly 10 prison officers with assistance from district health personnel. He said visitors who displayed symptoms or tested positive were immediately barred from entering the prison premises. "This proactive step is vital to stop any potential outbreak among the inmates," he said. Somsak added that all visitors, including Malaysians, were allowed to visit the inmates only after testing negative for Covid-19. According to Thailand's Department of Medical Sciences, the country has so far recorded 23 cases of the new Covid-19 strain XFG. Thailand's Department of Disease Control (DDC) reported on Covid-19 situation that Bangkok continues to have the highest number of daily cases, with the nationwide total reaching 439,527 confirmed cases for the year. As of June 11, a total of 7,527 new cases were reported, including 7,164 outpatients and 363 hospitalized patients. This brings the total number of cases since Jan 1, 2025, to 439,527. Additionally, 6 new deaths were reported, bringing the total number of fatalities since the beginning of the year to 130.


The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
WHO Covid-19 envoy David Nabarro dies at 75
DAVID NABARRO, the World Health Organization's special envoy for Covid-19 since the early stages of the outbreak in 2020, has died at the age of 75, the WHO said on Saturday. 'David was a great champion of global health and health equity, and a wise, generous mentor to countless individuals,' World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said of the Briton in a post on X. Nabarro was also co-director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College in London. At the height of the pandemic in 2021 Nabarro called for more global cooperation and aid to poorer countries during a health crisis he said was 'nothing like anything else we've ever seen in my professional life'. In 2017, he was a candidate for WHO director general, finishing second to Tedros in the election. - Reuters


The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
COVID-19 special envoy David Nabarro dies at 75
David Nabarro, World Health Organisation (WHO) Special Envoy for COVID-19 Preparedness and Response, poses after he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, Friday March 3, 2023. Victoria Jones/Pool via REUTERS (Reuters) -David Nabarro, the World Health Organization's special envoy for COVID-19 since the early stages of the outbreak in 2020, has died at the age of 75, the WHO said on Saturday. "David was a great champion of global health and health equity, and a wise, generous mentor to countless individuals," World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said of the Briton in a post on X. Nabarro was also co-director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College in London. At the height of the pandemic in 2021 Nabarro called for more global cooperation and aid to poorer countries during a health crisis he said was "nothing like anything else we've ever seen in my professional life". In 2017, he was a candidate for WHO director general, finishing second to Tedros in the election. (Reporting by Harshita Meenaktshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)