US Is on the Brink of Losing Measles Elimination Status

The CDC has officially linked measles outbreaks in Texas, Utah, and Arizona, raising concerns that the US could lose its measles elimination status for the first time in 25 years. The chain of transmission originated in January within a Mennonite community in Texas and spread to Oklahoma and New Mexico before reaching Utah and Arizona, the New York Times reports. The outbreak in Utah and Arizona is the largest in the country, with more than 180 reported cases.

Health officials warn that if the outbreak continues past January, marking a year of sustained transmission, the US will lose its elimination status, a designation granted by the World Health Organization when a country has interrupted endemic measles transmission. Canada lost its elimination status last week, meaning the Americas region as a whole has lost its measles-free designation. The region is the first and only one to have been declared measles-free, the BBC reports. It gained the status in 2016 but briefly lost it last year after outbreaks in Brazil and Venezuela, which were ended with vaccination campaigns.

"I wouldn't call the code yet, but I think the patient's not looking real good," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, per the Times. Most new infections are among household contacts, but about a quarter have no identified source, suggesting gaps in containment. Roughly 7% of cases have been traced to large gatherings, such as weddings. A CDC official noted that the risk of widespread transmission in the US remains low, but the virus can spread quickly in communities with low vaccination rates. More than 90% of reported cases involve unvaccinated people or people whose vaccination status is unknown.

story continues below

The CDC is collaborating with health authorities in Canada and Mexico to track the genetic sequence of the virus and share containment strategies. Experts say losing elimination status would be "deeply embarrassing" for a wealthy country with robust medical resources, though it may not result in immediate practical consequences like travel restrictions, the Times reports.