According to the latest figures released by the agency, almost half of last year’s measles cases came from five countries: Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Somalia and Ukraine. They’re not alone: In 2018, Albania, Czech Republic, Greece and the United Kingdom all lost their measles elimination status. The agency estimates 9.7 million measles cases and 142,300 measles deaths last year. ADThis year, the United States almost lost its measles elimination status because of a nearly year-long measles outbreak in New York, and it had the greatest number of measles cases since 1992. Public health officials warn that measles cases are likely to continue being imported, and under vaccination places the United States “at continual risk” for measles outbreaks.

Source: Washington Post December 14, 2019 12:45 UTC