A measles outbreak in the US state of Ohio has so far infected 82 children, seeking to make it the county’s highest outbreak since 2019.
The first cases were reported at a nursery near Columbus on November 9th. By the end of the month, cases had been discovered at a market, a mall, and a church.
Almost all of the cases have occurred in young children who have not been fully immunised against the disease.
Experts say that during the Covid pandemic, child vaccinations against measles fell.
Measles is more contagious than Covid and can cause serious illness.
The figures reported in Ohio over the last two months are higher than the total for the United States over the previous two years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 117 measles cases were reported in 2022, up from 49 cases the previous year and 13 cases in 2020.
So far, 32 of the infected children in Ohio have been hospitalised.
Measles, in addition to causing a distinctive rash, can cause severe complications such as pneumonia and brain inflammation, and can sometimes be fatal.
Vaccination can eliminate nearly all of these risks.
All of the Ohio cases have involved children aged 17 or younger, with 94% involving infants, babies, and children under the age of five.
All of the children appear to be at least partially unvaccinated, which means they have not received the required two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, known as MMR. According to local health officials, four of the children have no known vaccination status.
Children should receive their first dose between the ages of 12 and 15 months, and their second dose between the ages of 4 and 6.
According to a recent World Health Organization report, nearly 25 million children worldwide will have missed their first vaccination by 2021, with nearly 15 million missing their second dose.
In, the measles was declared completely eliminated.
