2LT International News

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The number of measles cases in the U.S. has gone over 1,000 for the first time in five years, according to federal data released last week.

The country is dealing with one of its worst outbreaks of this childhood disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 1,001 cases in 31 states. However, this number doesn’t include the latest update from Texas, which has seen a significant surge. Texas now has 709 cases, with seven new ones recently reported.

Experts warn that the U.S. could soon see measles become common again, 25 years after it was declared wiped out in the country. The last time cases exceeded 1,000 was in 2019, with a total of 1,274 cases.

Lisa Maragakis, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins Medicine, said the numbers could remain high or even continue to grow.

The Texas outbreak, which has killed two children and infected hundreds, started in a Mennonite community and has spread to nearby states like New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

So far this year, 13 percent of people with measles have been hospitalized, and three people have died. The CDC says there have been 14 outbreaks this year, each with at least three related cases.

Doctors say it is harder to fight measles now because health officials aren’t strongly promoting vaccines, and many parents are hearing confusing or false claims about other treatments.

The CDC says the measles vaccine is 97 percent effective after two doses.