Measles cases in the U.S. have reached their highest point since the elimination of the disease in the country in 2000.
A total of 1,277 measles cases have been reported in the U.S. since the start of the year, according to NBC News’ tally of state health department data.
Measles has been considered to be eliminated in the U.S. since 2000 because it has not continuously spread over a yearlong period.
The U.S. recorded its first measles deaths in 10 years, which were two children in Texas and an adult in New Mexico, who were all unvaccinated.
Periodic outbreaks of measles still occur, such as one that took off in a Mennonite community in West Texas earlier this year. Most of the measles cases this year are linked to that outbreak, with more than 700 cases in Texas alone, and smaller outbreaks resulting from international travel have been detected across the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention senior scientist Dr. David Sugerman said in April that measles would have to keep spreading through Jan. 20 for the U.S. to lose its elimination status.
Measles usually begins with a high fever, cough, runny nose, and pink or watery eyes, followed by white spots on the inside of the cheeks near the molars and a blotchy rash of flat, red spots. Severe cases of measles can develop into pneumonia or swelling of the brain.
About one to three out of every 1,000 children with measles die from respiratory and neurological complications, according to the CDC.
