The outbreak of measles in the United States has caused two lives as hundreds of people have been infected and many children are hospitalized with complications.
Officials say the best way to prevent the outbreak is through vaccinations.
However, some doctors report that patients are skeptical of vaccination and that there is a large pocket of unvaccinated communities in the United States.
In fact, experts say it is declining not only in the US but around the world due to issues of vaccine access and growing doubt and mistrust.
As the US is working to revive the disease, is there a risk that an anti-vaccine message will take hold in Australia?
What does the outbreak of measles in the US look like?
The number of confirmed cases this year is already above the total recorded 285 in 2024.
About 17 states have recorded more than 370 measles cases due to 64 hospitalizations and two deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The majority of cases are in children who have not been vaccinated or are known to have been vaccinated.
So far, three outbreaks (defined as three or more related cases) have been reported this year, with 90% of confirmed cases (341 out of 378) being associated with the outbreak.
It was believed that measles had been eliminated in the US thanks to the MMR vaccine and high immunity rates.
But it's a highly contagious disease, and experts say at least 95% of the community must be vaccinated to stop the pandemic. That's not the case in the US.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccination rates have been declining in the US, with most states below the preschool vaccination threshold.
Children will receive the MMR vaccine in Texas, USA on March 1st. sauce: Getty / Jan Sonnenmair
International outlook
Last week, the Mexican government said it would step up its measles vaccination campaign after a surge in incidents in areas adjacent to the US.
Mexico has confirmed 43 measles cases, 39 of which were recorded in the northern Chihuahua and were linked to imported infections.
In Vietnam, a recent statement from the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the outbreak of measles is “still very ongoing.” According to some recent media reports, the country has recorded around 40,000 suspected cases since the beginning of the year.
According to the WHO, in Europe, in 2024, the height of 25 years was doubled in Europe.
Last year, 127,350 measles cases and 38 deaths were registered in the European region of WHO. This includes 53 countries, including Central Asia.
Half of European cases required hospitalization, the WHO said 40% of cases under the age of 50 were involved in children.
Victoria's chief health officer recently warned of rising cases in Thailand, India, Africa and the Middle East.
Australian measles
The Ministry of Health's National Notable Disease Surveillance System has reported 37 infections in Australia this year.
In 2024, 57 cases were registered, starting from 26 in 2023.
The WHO declared in 2014 that it had eliminated measles from Australia, but the virus can still enter international travel. The confirmed incidents this year are primarily tourists and their close contacts, most of which are in NSW and Victoria.
Australia is below the World Health Organization's measles vaccination target rate of 95%, according to the Ministry of Health.
Vaccine access and skepticism in Australia
Associate Professor Frank Beard is located at the National Vaccination Research and Surveillance Centers, and reports the national vaccination rates each year.
“The scope of vaccinations has creeped up over the last few years since the Covid-19 pandemic… so (a) a modest decline, but before the pandemic, there was a rather steady increase in compensation over the past eight years or so,” he said.
Margie Danchin, a pediatrician at the University of Melbourne and the Murdoch Children's Institute, said there was a particular decline in certain communities and age groups.
She said that since 2020, pediatric vaccine coverage rates have been steadily declining in Australia at age 1, 2 and 5.
“The biggest decline actually was in Indigenous children, especially in the Northern Territory, from those two to two years,” she said.
“We have a major problem in Australia and the outbreak of measles is ripe not only in the Asia-Pacific region but also in the country.”
Measles is caused by the virus and appears as a highly infectious, itchy rash with fever. It mainly affects children, but one infection usually gives lifelong immunity. credit: Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Libra/Getty Images/Science Photo Libra
Danchin said Australia's geographical regions with low vaccine coverage are also clearly defined.
“In general, the range of measles vaccinations is quite high. Of course, it is highly geographically dependent. For example, in the North River region of New South Wales, there are also very large pockets of low vaccine pockets around Australia, in the city centres of Melbourne and Sydney,” she said.
If the suspicion and distrust of the vaccine are behind the lower vaccination rates in the US, that's not the case for Australia, Danchin said.
There are vaccine skeptics, but access is a major issue.
“There are practical barriers to vaccination. Therefore, they cannot pay for appointments or appointments. If the mother has a lot of children or can take time off work, they cannot travel to make an appointment,” she said.
Beard said there are concerns about the local outbreak because of gaps in vaccination ranges and unvaccinated people who bring measles back after travelling abroad.
“Australia was recognized by the World Health Organization for eliminating local measles transmission here in 2014. Since then, we have had several lawsuits and outbreaks, almost always linked to people who have not been vaccinated,” he said.
“Australians go abroad and then return with measles; or tourists from abroad with measles. And over the past few years there have been a lot of measles outbreaks overseas, increasing the risk that measles will be imported into Australia.”
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