We generally think of measles as a childhood disease. But since the year 2000, about 40% of U.S. cases have occurred in adults.
Though the virus poses the greatest danger in babies, the age group next most likely to be hospitalized by measles are adults over 25.
Many possible causes underlie rising adult cases: The children of anti-vaccination parents are now adults, for example. Also, prior to the vaccine, nearly everyone was exposed to the largely one-and-done virus during childhood.
In some adults, measles can cause hepatitis, serious respiratory distress, or permanent or deadly neurological damage. It can also pose a threat to pregnant women and fetuses.
Meanwhile, nearly 95% of children with measles in a recent central Ohio outbreak had not received the vaccine.
Arizona reported five measles cases in 2022, at least one of them adult, and zero cases so far this year.
