US Measles Cases Continue to Climb Toward Record High

So far this year, 465 infections have been reported, with numbers approaching their highest since measles returned to the country.

Written byAshley Yeager

| 2 min read

Save for Later

Listen with Speechify

0:00

2:00

ABOVE: © ISTOCK.COM, R&A STUDIO

As of last week (April 4), 465 cases of measles have been reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with 78 cases added in the past few days alone.

This year’s numbers—just a few months’ worth—are already a couple hundred shy of the record 667 measles cases reported in all of 2014. The record was set as the highest number of infections recorded since US health officials announced they had eradicated measles in 2000. The rate of infection is 4.84 cases per day, and if that rate of transmission continues, the number of cases this year will surpass the 2014 record high by June, according The Washington Post.

The CDC numbers are “more bad news,” Peter Hotez, an infectious-disease expert at the Baylor College of Medicine, says in a Twitter post, The Post reports. “A totally unnecessary and self inflicted wound, and ...

Interested in reading more?

The Scientist ARCHIVES

Become a Member of

Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!

Join for free today

Already a member?

Add The Scientist as a preferred Google source to see more of our trusted coverage.

Meet the Author

Ashley Yeager
Ashley started at The Scientist in 2018. Before joining the staff, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, a writer at the Simons Foundation, and a web producer at Science News, among other positions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree in science writing from MIT. Ashley edits the Scientist to Watch and Profile sections of the magazine and writes news, features, and other stories for both online and print.
View Full Profile