National Measles Outbreak Numbers Continue To Climb

U.S. health officials say this year’s count of measles cases (including here in Illinois) has surpassed 800, a growing tally that is already the nation’s highest in 25 years.

A new report shows 25 U.S. counties are at risk for a major outbreak, including Cook County here in Illinois, which has the highest risk of any county in the nation, according to the study.

The Patch:

Cook County is listed as the most at-risk, followed by Los Angeles County. While the number of confirmed measles cases remains low — Illinois has a total of seven confirmed measles cases so far in 2019, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health — "because of the presence of major international airports," Cook County and Los Angeles County " could serve as the fulcrum of continuous importation of the measles virus into the USA," according to the study.

Thus far in 2019, a total of 839 cases were reported as of last week. That’s the most since 1994, when 963 were reported for the entire year.

The Lancet:

Below are the counties most at risk of a measles outbreak identified in the study: