Measles cases reported in 2 more US states

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - The outbreak of measles in the U.S. continues with two more states reporting cases of the disease, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Monday.

There have been 1,022 cases reported across the country, as 20 more cases were reported after surpassing the 1,000 case mark last week.

Idaho and Virginia were the latest states to report cases, bringing to 28 the number of states with measles cases this year.

This year's record number of cases has been largely fueled by hotbeds in New York City and Rockland County, New York, where cases have continued for seven months among ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities which typically do not vaccinate.

Measles was officially eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, a milestone officials define by the virus no longer circulating continuously.

The CDC warned if outbreaks continue through the summer and fall, the U.S. risks losing its measles elimination status, noting should that happen, "that loss would be a huge blow for the nation and erase the hard work done by all levels of public health."

It said in the decade before 1963 when a vaccine became available, roughly 3 - 4 million people contracted the virus annually in the U.S., resulting in between 400 to 500 deaths each year and 48,000 hospitalizations.

The CDC has been implementing a number of initiatives to combat the spread, including deploying a field team to Rockland County to help diagnose cases, identifying 1,500 people who were exposed to measles while traveling. It also deployed an immunization worker to Albany, New York.

The number of measles cases is the highest since 1992, when 2,237 cases of the disease were reported in the U.S.