Measles is a potentially deadly, highly contagious disease preventable with vaccination. Twenty years after the United States declared measles eliminated from the population, we now have outbreaks of the disease in several states. As many as 9 out of 10 susceptible persons with close contact to a measles patient will develop measles. Years before the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963, nearly 500 deaths from measles were reported every year in the U.S. In communities where groups of people are unvaccinated, measles is more likely to spread and cause outbreaks.
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