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How Many People Get Measles Each Year?

It used to be that measles was very common and almost everyone got measles.

A measles epidemic hit New York City in 1951, as this front page NYTimes article reports.
A measles epidemic hit New York City in 1951, as this front page NYTimes article reports.

While it was a so-called rite of passage and a part of growing up, it wasn’t something you looked forward to, as some kids didn’t survive having measles.

How Many People Get Measles Each Year?

Fortunately, measles case counts have dropped in the post-vaccine era.

How much did they drop?

Let’s see..

YearCases
1920469,924
1941894,134
over 400 measles deaths each year
1962503,282
196925,826
197047,351
197826,871
197913,597
19831,497
19866,282
198918,193
199027,786
19919,643
19922,200
1993312
OLD record high number of measles cases
1994963
1995281
1996508
1997138
1998100
1999100
200086
2001116
200244
200355
OLD record low number of measles cases
200437
200566
200655
200743
2008140
200971
201061
2011220
201255
2013187
OLD worst year for measles since 1994, with the largest single outbreak (377 cases in Ohio) since the endemic spread of measles was eliminated
2014667
2015188
201686
2017120
2018375
NEW worst year for measles since 1992, with the largest single outbreak (652 cases in Brooklyn, New York) since the endemic spread of measles was eliminated
20191,274
NEW record low number of measles cases
202013
202149
2022121

Can you guess when the first measles vaccines were introduced?

Can you guess when we started to give kids a second dose of the MMR vaccine?

Can you guess when Wakefield became popular and Dr. Bob’s vaccine book was released?

Do you know how much it costs to contain these outbreaks?

Do you understand the consequences of a natural measles infection?

Can you explain why we will almost certainly have the second highest number of measles cases in one year since 1992, even though we see the devastation that high rates of measles is causing in Europe and other parts of the world?

How many people will get measles in the United States this year?

A lot has changed since we got reassurance from the CDC that we were seeing an expected range of measles cases, although there were plenty of warning signs then that this was going to be one for the record books.
A lot has changed since we got reassurance from the CDC that we were seeing an expected range of measles cases, although there were plenty of warning signs then that this was going to be one for the record books.

Although no one is reporting on this, with several large ongoing outbreaks still not under control – it will be another record year for measles in the United States.

The Rockland County measles outbreak already exceeds the total yearly case count for 11 of the past 19 years!
The Rockland County measles outbreak exceeded the total yearly case count for 11 of the past 19 years – in January!

And with several large outbreaks continuing overseas, next year doesn’t look like it will be much better, especially with reports of a measles resurgence in many regions of the world.

More on Measles and Measles Cases

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