NEW YORK (AP) — Pennsylvania has surpassed 1,000 cases of measles this year, state health officials announced Monday, making it the largest outbreak in the state in more than three decades.
The United States is experiencing its worst year for measles since 1991, with nearly 3,900 cases reported, according to the CDC. The country has recorded eight measles-associated deaths in the past two years, more than the combined total of deaths reported in the previous three decades.
Since early last year, large outbreaks have been reported in several states, including Texas and Utah, as well as South Carolina, which had the largest outbreak with 997 reported cases.
New York’s governor declared a state of emergency on Monday due to measles cases in neighboring states and rural New York. The order expands the number of people who can administer the measles vaccine to paramedics, midwives and others, and allows nurses to join doctors in ordering tests. The state has more than 100 cases this year.
Health officials say Pennsylvania current epidemic began in April, in West Philadelphia. There have been 1,004 cases, including 198 hospitalizations and five deathsstate officials said.
Health experts attribute these outbreaks to low vaccination rates.
It’s been decades since a U.S. state has seen an outbreak surpass 1,000 cases, dating back to a multi-year outbreak in New York. in the early 1990s which infected more than 4,500 people.
The country eliminated the national spread of measles in 2000 by maintaining high vaccination rates, but those rates have fallen in recent years to below 95% coverage necessary to prevent epidemics.
In November, international health officials will meet to determine whether the United States and Mexico have have lost their measles-free status.
Measles is very contagious. It is spread when people who have it breathe, cough or sneeze, as well as through contaminated surfaces. It can also stay in the air for two hours. Until 9 out of 10 susceptible people will contract the virus if exposed to it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Measles infections in the United States have increased in recent years, fewer children getting routine vaccines due to parental waivers, problems accessing health care, and widespread misinformation.
Pennsylvania and New York aren’t the only states facing a growing problem. Ohio is another, with more than 200 cases this year. Like Pennsylvania, some of the hardest-hit Ohio counties have large Amish populations, which tend to have lower vaccination rates.
Meanwhile, CDC officials have quietly begun to acknowledge deaths associated with measles in Pennsylvania.
In August, state officials announced that two unvaccinated residents had died after being infected with measles.
The announcement quickly came under fire when a clash erupted between Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, a vaccine promoter, and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Trump administration appointee with a history of trigger alarms on established vaccines.
Since then, Pennsylvania has reported three additional deaths.
But for weeks, the CDC — overseen by Kennedy — did not count any deaths in its measles data dashboard, saying instead it was seeking more information. That changed two weeks ago, when a death was finally counted, and again last week when a second death was added to the agency’s tally.
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