Measles

What it is

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that causes fever and rash and, in roughly one case in a thousand, brain swelling or death; it also erases immune memory for months afterwards. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97 percent protective, and the disease was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. Falling vaccination rates have brought it back, and 2026 case counts in the US are the highest in a generation, with the country's elimination status under review.

This week · US measles cases passed 5,000 for the first time since 1991, with 5,182 reported this year, the CDC said.

Written by the Alivewire editors from the coverage below, 3d ago. Not medical advice; how the ratings work.