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
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Mum at 15: More teens in Singapore gave birth in 2024
SINGAPORE: Despite her mother's vehement objections and her former partner's indifference to her pregnancy, Sarah dropped out of school at Secondary 3 and became a mum at the age of 15. Sarah (not her real name), whose baby daughter is now 11 months old, said: 'I considered abortion at first, but when I saw my baby on the ultrasound, I felt a very strong connection to her.' The 16-year-old added: 'I feel the baby is innocent. I wanted to step up and take responsibility for the mistake I made.' More teenagers, like Sarah, are becoming mothers, according to the Report on Registration of Births and Deaths 2024 released by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority on July 18. In 2024, there were 244 babies born to teenagers aged 19 or younger, up seven per cent from the 228 such babies in 2023. In 2022, the figure was 218. The slight increase marks a reversal from the steady fall in teen births in the past 20 years, especially when the numbers for teen births were much higher in the decade leading up to 2010. Melisa Wong, executive director at Babes Pregnancy Crisis Support, a charity that provides support to pregnant teens, cited a combination of reasons for the rise. She said many teens felt isolated or struggled with other negative emotions during the Covid-19 pandemic, and they may have had unprotected sex to seek connection or to cope with whatever they were going through. While teenagers generally explore romantic relationships at an earlier age these days, some may not use contraceptives for various reasons, she added. The rise in the number of teen births could also be due to fewer of them choosing an abortion, she noted. Non-profit groups that help pregnant women in distress, such as Babes and Safe Place, have seen those as young as 12 seeking help, though most of the pregnant teens are between 16 and 18 years of age. In the past five years, the average age of pregnant teens was 18, the Health Ministry said in 2024. Jennifer Heng, director of Safe Place, said many of the teens the group sees chose to keep their baby because of their religious beliefs and a sense of attachment to their unborn child. They also have supportive families or partners. Wong said some teens seek help only in their third trimester, when it is too late to get an abortion, so they end up giving birth. In Singapore, abortions are legal for women up to 24 weeks into their pregnancy. Social workers say these teen mums were not ready – mentally, emotionally or financially – for parenthood. And they struggled with feelings of fear and helplessness, and judgment from their friends and relatives, as Sarah did. Sarah said: 'Some of my relatives and friends say things like, 'So young, pregnant already'. I feel they look down on me for being a single mum.' She moved out from her mother's home to stay with her grand-aunt, the only person who supported her decision to keep her baby and who helps her with infant care. Her grand-uncle supports Sarah financially. She also broke up with her partner, who is five years older, before the baby was born. She said: 'I felt he didn't care about the baby, and there is no point staying if I have to do everything by myself. I didn't feel seen or heard.' She is thankful for Safe Place and its social workers, who give her counselling support and free necessities for her baby, such as milk powder and diapers, every month. 'Whenever I feel very overwhelmed, I would text my social worker and she comforts me. She also checks on me regularly,' Sarah said. 'It's exhausting to care for a baby, but I feel very happy to see my baby. She smiles a lot, and she is my pride and joy.' Meanwhile, 330 babies were registered in 2024 without their father's name. This number has remained relatively stable in the past few years. In 2024, one in four of these babies was born to teens aged 19 or below, the report on registration of births and deaths stated. Besides teens, Heng said women in their 20s comprise the other major group with babies registered without the father's name. She said the women do so because the fathers do not want to be involved in the child's life. Or the woman does not want the man to be involved, and she is afraid he would fight for custody of the child if his name is listed as the father. Wong said there are also teens with multiple partners who are unsure who the father is – hence the absence of a father's name. She added that some do not list the father's name 'as a way of starting afresh or emotionally detaching from a painful chapter'. - The Straits Times/ANN
New Straits Times
16 hours 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
17 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
