America has charted 387 cases of measles across 15 states since the beginning of the year — the second-highest number of reported infections since the disease was declared “eliminated” in 2000.
The number was topped only once before, in 2014, when 667 cases were reported by the same date.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s graph of year-over-year cases — updated every Monday — shows that 2019 passed last year in terms of outbreaks as of March 28. There were 372 cases confirmed by this time in 2018.
The states that have reported cases are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
Outbreaks — defined as three or more cases — are ongoing in California (Santa Cruz and Butte County), New Jersey, New York (Rockland County and New York City) and Washington, according to the CDC.
In response to the crisis of outbreaks, Rockland County, where 153 measles cases were confirmed as of Friday, banned unvaccinated minors from public spaces. Experts recommend that children receive the MMR vaccine in two doses: first between ages 12 months and 15 months, and a second between 4 and 6 years old.
The airborne disease is in large part seeing a resurgence due to the refusal of many parents to vaccinate their children, significantly within the Orthodox Jewish community. Though the flu-like symptoms of measles generally go away in a number of weeks, the disease can be fatal in some instances.
Early symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes, according to the CDC. Infected individuals are contagious from four days before rash onset through the fourth day after rash appearance.
The spike in reported cases is linked to travelers who brought measles back from other countries such as Israel, Ukraine and the Philippines, where large outbreaks are occurring, the CDC reports. Vaccination against measles — one dose is almost 93 percent effective in preventing infection — is advised before traveling internationally.