Highly contagious measles outbreak sparks travel warning in US

A total of 483 confirmed cases of measles, and two deaths have been reported in the United States as of Mar. 27. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed three major outbreaks in 2025, with 93% of those infected traced back to the outbreaks. With measles outbreak on the rise, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a travel warning. The health agency has urged travelers to ensure their vaccinations are up to date before heading to the US.WHO advised international travellers to ‘check and update their vaccination status against measles prior to departure’, including when planning to travel to the United States.It also asked to maintain a stock of the vaccine and supplies for responding to imported cases. "Facilitating access to vaccination services according to the national scheme to incoming and outgoing international travellers, including individuals due to perform activities, domestically or abroad, in areas with ongoing measles outbreaks, displaced populations, indigenous populations, or other vulnerable populations," it said in a note on Mar. 27. This year’s measles outbreak in the US has affected 20 jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington. The outbreak's epicenter, Texas has recorded the highest number of cases, 400, as of Friday, Mar. 28. What is measles?Measles is a highly contagious, airborne viral disease. It spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can cause severe disease, complications, and even death. Though the disease can affect anyone but is most common in children. What are the symptoms of measles? The symptoms of measles include high fever, runny nose, red eyes, cough, and white spots in the mouth, followed by a rash 10-14 days post-exposure. While most of them recover within 2–3 weeks, without specific antiviral treatment, complications like pneumonia, encephalitis, blindness, or death may arise and pose significant risks, especially to the unvaccinated.How to prevent measles?According to health agencies such as CDC and WHO, the best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a vaccine against measles, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles. WHO recommends immunization for all susceptible children and adults for whom measles vaccination is not contraindicated. Meanwhile, former White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha recently noted that the outbreak was 'wholly preventable', and also criticized the HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, for spreading misinformation. “We should not be at this point in our country, and yet here we are because of bad information being spread by Secretary Kennedy and others.” He also pointed out the vaccination rates dipping among children and said that it is "putting kids across America at risk," Jha told ABC News.