Amna Nawaz:
2025 is now the worst year for measles cases in this country in more than three decades. That’s according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 150 people have been hospitalized due to the growing outbreak, and three have died, including two unvaccinated children in Texas.
To help us break down the new data, we’re joined now by Dr. Adam Ratner. He’s a member of the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the author of “Booster Shots: The Urgent Lessons of Measles and the Uncertain Future of Children’s Health.”
Dr. Ratner, thanks for joining us.
When we say it’s the worst year in all those years, here’s a quick look at the numbers. The national case count reached 1,288 on Wednesday. That is across 38 states. There have been 162 hospitalizations. About half of those are children under the age of 5.
Doctor, put that into context for us. How do these numbers compare to years past?
Dr. Adam Ratner, American Academy of Pediatrics: Right. So this is the largest number of cases in more than 30 years. It goes back to before we had eliminated measles from the United States, which happened in the year 2000.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, we had large outbreaks in a number of cities. And that’s when we had these really high case counts. And we’re rivaling those numbers now. So this is a really disappointing milestone we have hit.
