WARNING: A Dangerous Deadly Infection Outbreak in 17 States

A deadly infectious disease is making a comeback in the U.S., after being considered "eliminated" as of 2000.

So far this year 17 states have reported cases.

In not just in the US, measles cases have been on the rise globally. The World Health Organization deems its spread "large or disruptive outbreaks in countries across the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe and Asia." The CDC has said this increased the share of unvaccinated travelers exposed to the virus and bringing it back to the U.S.

"We're a little bit concerned we're now in the same or similar position to what we see epidemiologically in the run-up to that 2019 year, where suddenly we had this explosion of cases," Natasha Crowcroft, the WHO's senior technical adviser for measles and rubella, said in February.

The CDC is reporting that as of March 14, 2024, a total of 58 measles cases were reported in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York City, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington.

Why measles is so dangerous (according to cdc.gov):

“Common complications from measles include otitis media, bronchopneumonia, laryngotracheobronchitis, and diarrhea. Even in previously healthy children, measles can cause serious illness requiring hospitalization."

One out of every 1,000 measles cases will develop acute encephalitis, which often results in permanent brain damage.
One to three out of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles will die from respiratory and neurologic complications.
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a rare, but fatal degenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized by behavioral and intellectual deterioration and seizures that generally develop 7 to 10 years after measles infection.”

Measles is most common in children. The disease works by infecting "the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose, and a rash all over the body."