Health experts to assess US and Mexico measles elimination status as outbreaks surge

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is set to hold a meeting of medical experts aimed at determining the status of the United States and Mexico in eliminating Measles. They expect to see if the virus is seeing continued transmission within the countries’ borders, reported AP.

“It’s a big deal. The decision represents us moving backwards,” Dr David Margolius, director of Cleveland’s health department and a leader in a coalition of big U.S. city health departments, told AP.

According to the agency, measles is a highly contagious viral infection whose spread was reined in by the US in 30 years. Infections had become a medical rarity; however, in the past two years, the country had witnessed large outbreaks hitting multiple states, leading to thousands contracting the disease and causing a dozen deaths.


Read more: Beyond measles: What other preventable diseases risk a comeback amid America's vaccination crisis

Medical status

The PAHO advisory commission would look at genetic evidence to determine if the same strain of measles virus has spread for one year or more in the outbreaks in North America, which started in 2024. The commission would, based on the findings, determine whether the affected country has “eliminated” the infection, AP reported.

The organisation had earlier removed Canada’s measles-free designation it had since 1998.

“It’s solely based on genetics,” Dr Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease doctor in the Pittsburgh area and a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told AP.

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The commission would present its findings to PAHO director to make the final determination. The organisation would announce its findings next week, organisation officials told AP.

Center for Disease Control (CDC) director Erica Schwartz said the organisation would not change its approach based on the upcoming PAHO’s decision and would not affect how federal health officials are addressing outbreaks.

“The measles elimination designation is not what protects Americans. Vaccination does. We know where transmission is occurring, and we’re working with state and local health departments to reach those communities. Losing a designation doesn’t mean we abandon an evidence-based approach. It means we remain focused on stopping outbreaks,” AP reported Shwartz's comment, citing a statement.

Consensus

Public health experts have urged for a campaign to promote vaccination and provide advice to doctors, reported AP.

According to the agency, they blame US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr for his support in the anti-vaccine movement before US President Donald Trump appointed him in charge of the country’s health agencies, which led to a politically contentious and subdued response to rising infections.

Experts highlighted Kennedy’s push to reduce the childhood vaccination schedule, reorganising a major vaccine advisory board and hailing Trump’s executive order to space out the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

America’s worst measles outbreak in decades

US vaccination rates started slowing over the years; the childhood vaccination rate fell to about 92% nationally and was much lower in certain states and certain communities. The slump was partly caused by disproven claims of vaccines causing autism, AP reported.

Earlier, Trump had also claimed that the MMR vaccine was possibly “quite lethal".

The infection rate spiked in the US last year, with more than 5,100 confirmed cases this year, driven largely by an outbreak in Pennsylvania. The country saw eight measles-associated deaths this year, which was the highest count since 1991, according to the agency.

Mexico’s infection surge kills 50

According to AP, Mexico’s state of Chihuahua saw a significant rise in cases last year, which researchers have linked to the infection being spread by an unvaccinated Mennonite child from that Mexican state who travelled to Gaines County, Texas, where an outbreak was occurring.

The country has recorded more than 20,500 confirmed cases and reported 50 measles-related deaths, most of whom were children younger than 5 years old.

(With inputs from AP)