The measles outbreak in the United States is still continuing to spread with another 25 confirmed cases recorded last week, according to federal health officials.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of cases from July 11 to 18 included new outbreaks in Ohio and Alaska.
This raises the total number of states affected by the illness to 30, and the total number of cases since January 1 to 1,148, making this the worst outbreak in the country in a quarter of a century.
However, health care experts say it appears the outbreak may finally be winding down.
In New York, epidemiologist Theresa Madaline at Montefiore Hospital told Reuters, “There’s been a tremendous effort to try to promote vaccination in areas of the outbreak, and it’s been very effective in reducing the numbers.”
As of July 23, there were 369 confirmed cases of measles in New York State outside of New York City, including 282 cases in Rockland County alone.
In New York City, as of July 22, there have been 637 confirmed cases of measles since September 2018, and 31,790 doses of the MMR vaccine administered to people under the age of 19 in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Borough Park since October 2018.