* Many U.S. measles cases can be traced to Europe
* Foreign visitors, foreign travel are main source
* More than 90 percent of US children are vaccinated
By David Beasley
ATLANTA, April 19 (Reuters) – Measles cases in the United
States hit a 15-year high in 2011, with 90 percent of the cases
traced to other countries with lower immunization rates, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday.
There were 222 cases of measles in the United States last
year, more than triple the usual number, the CDC said. There had
been only about 60 cases per year between 2001 and 2010.
No one has died of the disease in the United States since
2008. But approximately 20 million people contract the measles
virus each year worldwide, and about 164,000 die from it, said
Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the health agency’s National
Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
The agency said in 2000 that home-grown measles had been
eliminated, but cases continued to arrive in the United States
from abroad.
There have been more than 25 measles cases reported so far
in 2012, most of them imported, the CDC said. The virus can
easily enter the country through foreign visitors or Americans
traveling abroad who bring the disease back with them.
Measles is highly contagious and is transmitted when an
infected person breaths, coughs or sneezes, Schuchat said.
The disease can be spread even before an infected person has
developed the rash from the virus.
“You can catch measles just by being in a room where a
person with measles has been even after that person has left the
room,” Schuchat said on Thursday.
Measles cases were found in 31 states in 2011. Last year’s
count marked the highest number of cases since 1996, when there
were 508 cases in the United States.
All but 22 of the 222 cases last year involved patients who
had been infected overseas or caught the virus from someone who
had been abroad, the CDC said. The source of the other 22 cases
could not be determined.
Many of the cases were traced to Europe, where in some
countries immunization rates are lower than in the United
States. Europe suffered an outbreak of the disease in 2011,
reporting more than 37,000 measles cases.
France, Italy and Spain, popular destinations for U.S.
tourists, were among the hardest hit, said Schuchat.
“It’s very important for travelers heading off to Europe to
make sure they are up to date on their immunizations and that
their children are too,” she said.
Those who have already had measles or have been inoculated
are not considered at risk of contracting the virus, the CDC
said. The CDC recommends children receive two doses of measles,
mumps and rubella vaccine starting at 12-15 months of age.
More than 90 percent of U.S. children have been vaccinated
against measles, the CDC said.
“We don’t have to have this much measles,” Schuchat said.
“Measles is preventable. Unvaccinated people put themselves and
other people at risk for measles and its complications.”
(Editing By Colleen Jenkins and Todd Eastham)
