After mostly disappearing in the late '90s, measles have made a
national comeback with the largest outbreak in 15 years, mostly
caused by unvaccinated travelers who bring the disease back
home, the CDC said this week. This year so far, there were 118
reported measles cases in the country, including two in
Washington. That's nearly twice as many as the country's total
for all of last year, and the highest number for that time
period since 1996. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention found that most of the patients had brought the
disease home from Southeast Asia or Europe, currently in the
grip of a major epidemic. The vast majority – 89 percent – were
unvaccinated. Patients included 24 kids whose parents claimed a
religious or personal exemption from vaccinations and 47 people
who had to be hospitalized. After declaring measles eliminated
at the end of the last century -- largely due to high
vaccination rates -- health experts are now worried that the
disease's surge partly stems from a growing anti-v