Since October 2018, the US has been battling an outbreak of measles, a disease which was considered eliminated in the country in 2000.
Eradication of the disease had been successful through the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, given to children at 12-15 months old and again at four to six years old.
The current outbreak began in the Orthodox Jewish community in New York, and, subsequently, anti-vaccination misinformation campaigns and failing health measures allowed the virus to spread.
The majority of cases in the US outbreak have been in individuals 18 years and under, with 86% of those unvaccinated.
The lack of vaccination is often due to misinformation campaigns, fuelled primarily by social media and certain communities’ distrust in government.
Currently, there are no federal efforts to halt the spread of measles, leaving individual states to deal with managing and containing outbreaks as they occur.
Since there is no cure for measles, containment measures are the only solution to any outbreaks that may arise.
Current measures include reviewing school vaccination records, quarantine for those infected, and a push for MMR vaccination.
