On March 18, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued this Health Alert Network Health Advisory to inform clinicians and public health officials of an increase in global and U.S. measles cases and to provide guidance on measles prevention for all international travelers aged 6 months and older and all children aged 12 months and older who do not plan to travel internationally.
Measles is highly contagious. One person infected with measles can infect 9 out of 10 unvaccinated individuals they come in close contact. In the first three months of 2024, the CDC has been notified of 58 confirmed U.S. cases of measles across 17 states, compared to 58 total cases reported the entire year in 2023. Among the 58 cases reported in 2024, 54 (93%) were linked to international travel. Most cases reported in 2024 have been among children aged 12 months and older who had not received measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. (Numbers as of March 27, 2024)
Michigan accounts for four of those cases in 2024, with two in Washtenaw County, and one each in Wayne and Oakland counties
Vaccination rates among U.S. kindergartners have declined in recent years, dipping from 95.2% during the 2019-2020 school year to 93.1% in the 2022-2023 school year. In Michigan, the rate for recommended childhood immunizations, which includes MMR, was 66% in 2023, according to state health department data.
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