A rising number of measles cases in the U.S. this yearis raising concerns over a comeback of a disease that was declared eliminated in this country 24 years ago.
A measles report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week concluded that the spike in cases means more public health efforts are needed to increase routine vaccination coverage.
This year there have been 121 infections reported in 17 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is well above the total of 58 cases documented for the country for all of 2023.
Among the national cases this year were three in Georgia, all of them in unvaccinated people. The latest was confirmed Thursday in a person traveling with an international group of students. Earlier this year, state health officials confirmed two cases of measles in a metro Atlanta family after one of the family members had traveled internationally.
Before this year, the last measles cases in Georgia were reported in 2020.
While the numbers might seem low, measles is a serious illness that can lead to severe complications.
The airborne virus is also highly contagious. If one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected, according to the CDC.