New York Faces Worst Measles Outbreak in Decades

In one county alone, more than 100 cases have been confirmed since October.

Written byCatherine Offord

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More than 167 people in the state of New York have contracted measles in the state’s largest outbreak since the 1990s, NBC reported earlier this week (January 8). The highly contagious virus, which scientists say was brought to New York by travelers returning from a visit to Israel last September, has prompted statewide efforts to vaccinate children and adults to try to prevent an epidemic.

“In my memory, I don’t know of a measles outbreak that was this significant,” Howard Zucker, the state commissioner of health in New York, tells CNN.

Douglas Puder, a pediatrician at Clarkstown Pediatrics in Rockland County—one of the areas that has been most affected—tells NBC that there is “clear and present danger right here in our community.” The number of cases in Rockland has risen to 105 since October, with another four being investigated. More than 80 percent of those cases ...

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Meet the Author

Catherine Offord
After undergraduate research with spiders at the University of Oxford and graduate research with ants at Princeton University, Catherine left arthropods and academia to become a science journalist. She has worked in various guises at The Scientist since 2016. As Senior Editor, she wrote articles for the online and print publications, and edited the magazine’s Notebook, Careers, and Bio Business sections. She reports on subjects ranging from cellular and molecular biology to research misconduct and science policy. Find more of her work at her website.
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