Three months into 2024, the nation has had as many measles cases as it had last year, CDC warns

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tracked 58 cases of measles in 2024, which is the number of total cases reported last year, according to the agency.

Those 58 cases have emerged across 17 states, according to a March 18 advisory from the CDC to public health officials. The number of outbreaks this year (seven) is already higher than in 2023 when there were four outbreaks.

Aside from the 10 infections reported in Florida this year, measles cases have appeared in neighboring states, such as Louisiana and Georgia and far away states, such as California and Oregon.

The CDC advisory warns that 93 percent of the infections have been linked to international travel and unvaccinated people.

“Declines in measles vaccination rates globally have increased the risk of measles outbreaks worldwide, including in the United States. Measles cases continue to be brought into the United States by travelers who are infected while in other countries,” the advisory states. “As a result, domestic measles outbreaks have been reported in most years, even following the declaration of U.S. measles elimination in 2000. Most importations come from unvaccinated U.S. residents.”

One of the recommendations for healthcare providers in the advisory is to ensure children have received the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine because communities with low vaccination rates are at higher risk of outbreaks.

Earlier this month, the Florida Department of Health stated that the 21-day infection period at Broward County’s Manatee Bay Elementary, the school where the outbreak happened, had ended. The March 8 press release from the health department also said that there could be more measles cases in Florida because of the disease’s contagiousness and the rate of international travel.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s handling of the outbreak got nationwide backlash because he said parents at Manatee Bay Elementary could choose whether to send their kids to school or keep them at home as the outbreak developed.

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