As super-contagious measles continues to spread and nears a six-year U.S. record, cases in its original epicenter of West Texas may be subsiding as hesitant residents become more concerned and willing to vaccinate, while North Dakota is a new focus with the highest rate of any state.

The number of measles cases is approaching 1,000 across 29 states, according to newly released federal statistics. Even as the outbreaks grow, more local governments are complaining that their efforts to combat measles with vaccination clinics have been shut down by abrupt federal funding cuts.

Americans are increasingly unsure what to believe about measles as an outbreak spreads throughout the country, according to a survey released recently by the nonpartisan health research organization KFF.

Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA, has announced a measles outbreak in Ashtabula County and one confirmed case of a visitor in Knox County who exposed others to measles in Knox and nearby counties.

Worldwide, there were an estimated 10.3 million cases of measles in 2023, a 20-percent increase from 2022, according to new estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Inadequate immunization coverage globally is driving the surge in cases.

Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA, Monday announced that out of an abundance of caution, ODH is informing individuals that they may have been exposed to measles in Terminal A of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport during the following times on Jan. 27, 2024 and Jan. 29, 2024.

Following years of declines in measles vaccination coverage, measles cases in 2022 have increased by 18 percent, and deaths have increased by 43 percent globally (compared to 2021). This takes the estimated number of measles cases to 9 million and deaths to 136,000 – mostly among children – according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).