April 19, 2012 -- Measles cases are spiking sharply in the U.S.,
the CDC reported today. The 222 cases and 17 outbreaks seen in
2011 are nearly four times the median of 60 cases and four
outbreaks per year seen over the last decade. A third of
patients were hospitalized. The surge in cases is largely due to
people who have not been vaccinated with the
measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, the CDC says. A significant
percentage of these people are children and teens whose parents
exempted them from school vaccination requirements.
"Unvaccinated people put themselves and others at risk --
particularly infants too young to be vaccinated, who can have
the most severe complications," Anne Schuchat, MD, director of
the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory
Diseases, said at a news conference held to announce the new
report. Vaccine refusal is more common in Europe than in the
U.S. The result: more than 37,000 measles cases in Europe last
year. Five countries account for 90% of the cases: France, Ita