Health officials in Illinois and North Dakota say their measles outbreaks are over. In aouthern Illinois there were eight cases in that outbreak and two unrelated cases in Cook County.
The U.S. added 21 new cases since July 9. States with active outbreaks include Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. Two elementary school-aged children and an adult have died from measles this year. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne. It is preventable through vaccines and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. This year’s U.S. tally is the highest since 1991.
