Elimination status can be removed by the WHO when measles has been spreading continuously for a year
THURSDAY, Oct. 3, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Despite recent outbreaks among unvaccinated people, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects the United States will maintain its measles elimination status.
The New York State Department of Health said Thursday that it has been more than 42 days since any new cases of measles linked to last October’s outbreak have been reported in New York’s Sullivan and Orange counties, and outbreaks in Rockland County and New York City have also subsided, CNN reported.
“However, this outbreak is a grave reminder that we need heightened vigilance around measles as well as other vaccine preventable diseases, and we continue to address the myths and misinformation driving these outbreaks,” the CDC said in a statement. “CDC continues to encourage parents to speak with their family’s health care provider about the importance of vaccination. We also encourage local leaders to provide accurate, scientific-based information to counter misinformation. Vaccines remain the most powerful tool to preserve health and to save lives.”
The measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. That status can be taken away by the World Health Organization when measles has been spreading continuously for a year. The United States would lose face if elimination status was removed, public health experts have said, according to CNN.
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