International travellers are being warned about the risk of catching measles while abroad in new guidance from US health authorities. Unlike previous advice, the new alert applies to all foreign travel, no matter the destination.
Measles is a viral and airborne infectious disease that causes a rash, lesions, fever, coughing, complications such as diarrhea, pneumonia, seizures, and even blindness, hearing loss, brain inflammation, and death. Symptoms appear between one and two weeks after exposure and, before widespread vaccination programmes in the mid-20th century, the death rate was around 30%.
#Measles can be fatal. Do you know its symptoms?
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 30, 2025
🔸 Rash that starts on the face and spreads over the body
🔸 Fever
🔸 Runny nose
🔸 Cough
🔸 Red and watery eyes
🔸 Small white spots inside the cheeks
Seek health care if you suspect you or your child has measles. pic.twitter.com/AeCQZGeB1w
128,000 deaths per year
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) points out that an estimated 128,000 people still die from measles every year. The authority describes measles as “highly contagious” and notes that “If one person has it, up to 9 out of 10 people nearby will become infected if they are not protected.”
Officials also point out that the disease “was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000.” However, it points out that measles remains a common disease in many parts of the world, including Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Many countries and popular travel destinations have experienced measles outbreaks in recent years. These include the UK, Israel, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Ukraine, the Philippines, and more.”
This means that “every year, measles is brought into the United States by unvaccinated travelers who get measles while they are in other countries. These travelers are mostly Americans and sometimes international visitors.”
The CDC is urging international travelers to ensure they are fully vaccinated against measles after 42 new cases were reported nationwide this past week, bringing the total to over a thousand cases in 32 states. @morganorwood has the latest. https://t.co/Hm01s1e8u8 pic.twitter.com/QPCYil8q6q
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) June 1, 2025
Child fatalities among over 1,000 US cases
There have been over 1,000 cases in 2024 alone, with recent outbreaks in Texas, where cases rose 81% this spring, as well as in Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, and in Canada and Mexico. A six-year-old child and an eight-year-old have died in Texas, as well as an adult. All were unvaccinated, authorities say.
My heart goes out to the families impacted by the current measles outbreak in TX. I recognize the serious impact of this outbreak on families, children, and healthcare workers.
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) February 28, 2025
Here at @HHSGov we have:
• Supported Texas Department of Health through technical assistance and…
For these reasons, the CDC is urging all US travellers going to foreign countries to ensure they are protected with the so-called “MMR” (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, at least two weeks before travel. An early dose is advised for travelling infants ages 6 months to 11 months. This echoes advice from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
🚨 CDC is on the ground in TX, partnering with @TexasDSHS to respond to the #measles outbreak.
— CDC (@CDCgov) March 4, 2025
This partnership – known as an Epi-Aid- is a rapid response by CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) to tackle urgent public health issues like disease outbreaks. EIS officers…
Vaccine safety controversy
The vaccine, the CDC says, is “safe and effective. Two doses of MMR vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing measles; one dose is about 93% effective.” The second dose should be administered 28 days after the first.
Some commentators have blamed the rising case numbers on US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his previous anti-vaccine stance. Calling the deaths “needless”, Dr. Peter Marks, former vaccine head for the Food and Drug Administration has said Kennedy and his team must take responsibility for the fatalities. In April, Kennedy apparently changed his view, writing on X that vaccinations are “the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.”
