A measles outbreak in northern Arizona is just shy of a hundred cases at 97, and recent trends show no sign of slowing down, with nearly 40 cases added this month.
The disease has also spread through southern Utah, where 45 cases have been recorded this year, making the total between the two states over 150 cases.
That’s more than a tenth of all cases nationwide according to the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which missed a pivotal infectious disease meeting this month due to the ongoing government shutdown.
Measles vaccination rates in Mohave County, the hardest hit in Arizona, were at 78% last school year for kindergarteners. That’s about 20 percentage points lower than what health officials recommend for community protection.
