The number of measles cases reported in 2024 is already on track to surpass last year’s total number of diagnoses nationwide.
At least 58 cases of the disease have been reported in the U.S. so far in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s the same number of cases that were reported for the entirety of 2023, the data shows.
Seventeen states, including Ohio, have this year reported cases of measles, a virus that can cause a fever, cough, runny nose, and a rash, among other symptoms.
Throughout Ohio, five cases have been reported so far, including two in Montgomery County, two in Miami County and one in Richland County, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Each of those cases were reported in people who were either unvaccinated or did not know if they had been inoculated.
“The Ohio Department of Health strongly encourages vaccination, as two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is 97% effective against measles,” Ken Gordon, a state health department spokesman said via email.
A vaccine for measles first became available in 1963, according to the CDC. Today it’s given in two doses, with the first being administered to babies 15 months of age and younger and the second recommended to be administered between ages 4 and 6.
Although Columbus and Franklin County have been spared so far by measles this year, central Ohio did suffer a measles outbreak that began in October 2022 and saw its last case recorded in early 2023, according to Columbus Public Health.
A total of 85 cases were reported locally as part of that outbreak, data shows. Of those 85 cases, 80 were unvaccinated, four had only received one dose of the vaccine and one person did not confirm their vaccination status, according to Columbus Public Health.
Although a vaccine has existed for decades now, the measles is considered a serious disease, said Columbus Public Health spokeswoman Kelli Newman.
Prior to the vaccine, nearly all U.S. children contracted the measles by the age of 15 and 3 million to 4 million people fell ill with the disease each year, according to the CDC. At the time, it’s estimated between 400 and 500 people a year died of measles while 48,000 were hospitalized, and 1,000 suffered brain swelling.
“Measles is a highly contagious illness, but it is preventable,” Newman told The Dispatch. “To protect your children from measles, make sure they receive timely MMR vaccines, which are safe and highly effective at preventing measles.”
mfilby@dispatch.com
