In preliminary figures for 2018, reported cases in the region increased 3-fold to 82,596 in 47 countries, with 72 deaths; Ukraine had the most cases (53,218), with the highest incidence rates being in Ukraine (1209 cases per million), Serbia (579), Georgia (564) and Albania (500). The previous year (2017) saw an estimated measles vaccine coverage of 95% for the first dose and 90% for the second dose in the region, the latter figure being the highest-ever estimated second-dose coverage.In 2019, the United Kingdom, Albania, the Czech Republic, and Greece lost their measles-free status due to ongoing and prolonged spread of the disease in these countries. In the first 6 months of 2019, 90,000 cases occurred in Europe. Americas
As a result of widespread vaccination, the disease was declared eliminated from the Americas in 2016. However, there were cases again in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 in this region. United States
In the United States, measles affected approximately 3,000 people per million in the 1960s before the vaccine was available. With consistent widespread childhood vaccination, this figure fell to 13 cases per million by the 1980s, and to about 1 case per million by 2000.In 1991, an outbreak of measles in Philadelphia was centered at the Faith Tabernacle Congregation, a faith healing church that actively discouraged parishioners from vaccinating their children. Over 1400 people were infected with measles and nine children died.Before immunization in the United States, between three and four million cases occurred each year.
The case received wide international coverage that prompted many to comment on it, including neurologist, well-known skeptic and science-based medicine advocate Steven Novella, who called Lanka "a crank".As outbreaks easily occur in under-vaccinated populations, the disease is seen as a test of sufficient vaccination within a population. Measles outbreaks have been on the rise in the United States, especially in communities with lower rates of vaccination. A different vaccine distribution within a single territory by age or social class may define different general perceptions of vaccination efficacy. It is often introduced to a region by travelers from other countries and it typically spreads to those who have not received the measles vaccination. Alternative names
Other names include morbilli, rubeola, red measles, and English measles. Research
In May 2015, the journal Science published a report in which researchers found that the measles infection can leave a population at increased risk for mortality from other diseases for two to three years. Results from additional studies that show the measles virus can kill cells that make antibodies were published in November 2019.A specific drug treatment for measles, ERDRP-0519, has shown promising results in animal studies, but has not yet been tested in humans. References
External links

Initiative for Vaccine Research (IVR): Measles, World Health Organization (WHO)
Measles FAQ U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Case of an adult male with measles (facial photo)
Pictures of measles
Virus Pathogen Database and Analysis Resource (ViPR): Paramyxoviridae