ATLANTA — Measles cases in the U.S. are at the highest level in more than a decade, with nearly half of those involving children whose parents rejected vaccination, health officials reported Thursday.
Doctors are troubled by the trend fueled by unfounded fears that vaccines might cause autism. The number of cases is still small, just 131, but that is only for the first seven months of the year. There were 42 cases all of last year.
“We’re seeing a lot more spread. That is concerning to us,” said Dr. Jane Seward of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC’s review found that many cases involved home-schooled children not required to get the vaccines. Others can avoid vaccination by seeking exemptions, such as for religious reasons.
Measles is a potentially deadly virus that spreads through contact with a sneezing, coughing, infected person.
In a typical year, only one outbreak occurs in the United States, infecting perhaps 10 to 20 people. So far this year through July 30, the country has seen seven outbreaks, including one in Illinois with 30 cases, Seward said.
None of the 131 patients have died, but 15 were hospitalized.
The Academy of Pediatrics has made educating parents about the safety of vaccines a top priority this year.
Questions commonly center on autism and the fear that it can be caused by the measles shots or by a mercury-based preservative that used to be in most vaccines. Health officials say there is no good scientific proof either is a cause.
