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\n A measles outbreak is spreading across a Washington county known for choosing not to vaccinate its children, and health officials have declared a public health emergency. Millions of Americans suffered from measles <\/a>in the decades before the U.S. eliminated<\/a>\u00a0 the disease\u00a0in 2000. But if an ongoing outbreak in New York state continues into next month, the U.S. could lose its “measles-free” status.<\/p>\n “As a global leader in public health, it is mortifying that (the U.S.)\u00a0may lose its measles elimination status,”\u00a0said\u00a0Dr. Paul Spiegel, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health. “The measles outbreaks should not have occurred as vaccination against measles is very effective.”<\/p>\n The U.S. isn’t\u00a0alone. Four countries \u2014 Albania, Greece, the Czech Republic\u00a0and the United Kingdom \u2014 recently lost their measles elimination status, which the World Health Organization defines\u00a0as the absence of continuous disease transmission for greater than 12 months.<\/p>\n The U.S. would\u00a0immediately lose its elimination status if\u00a0there is any\u00a0case connected to the current\u00a0outbreak on or after Oct. 2, according to\u00a0CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund. If there’s a case\u00a0that was not transmitted through\u00a0the current outbreak, however, then\u00a0the U.S. would not lose elimination status.<\/p>\n Measles cases surpass 1,000 in 6 months: <\/strong>Medical experts worry<\/span><\/p>\n US sees 400 reported cases of measles: <\/strong>What are states doing about it?<\/span><\/p>\n Reported cases worldwide rose by 300 percent<\/a> in the first three months of 2019, compared to the same period in 2018, according to preliminary data from the WHO. And that’s likely an underestimate: WHO estimates that less than 1 in 10 cases are reported globally.<\/p>\n \u201cRe-establishment of measles transmission is concerning. If high immunization coverage is not achieved and sustained in every community, both children and adults will suffer unnecessarily and some will tragically die,\u201d said\u00a0Dr. G\u00fcnter Pfaff, chair of the European Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination, in a press release last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n USA TODAY<\/span><\/p>\n