US Faces New Measles Outbreak as Cases and Deaths Surge Worldwide

After a near 30-year peak of the disease in 2019 with 1,274 cases, some American physicians are sounding the alarm on vaccine hesitancy.

Miami Children's Hospital pediatrician Dr. Amanda Porro, administers a measles vaccination to Sophie Barquin, 4, as her mother Gabrielle Barquin holds her during a visit to the Miami Children's Hospital on Jan. 28, 2015, in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Measles is seeing a resurgence both worldwide and in the United States 24 years after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the virus was “eliminated” in America after decades of vaccination efforts.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) most recent global numbers, released in November, reveal that measles cases increased worldwide by 18 percent to about 9 million, and deaths rose 43 percent to 136,000, in 2022 compared to 2021.