United States: An expert immunologist issued a prediction about the “post-herd-immunity world” after measles outbreaks emerged in regions with low vaccination rates across the American southwest, Mexico, and Canada.
Deadly Measles Surge
A quarter-century-long record for measles outbreak cases continues to plague the United States.
In the western part of Texas, two unvaccinated children died alongside one adult victim while the measles spread throughout New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Immunologists Warn of Post-Herd-Immunity
According to Dr Paul Offit, an expert on infectious disease and immunology and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, “We’re living in a post-herd-immunity world. I think the measles outbreak proves that,” the Guardian reported.
“Measles – because it is the most contagious of the vaccine-preventable diseases, the most contagious human disease really – it is the first to come back,” Offit added.
The US eliminated measles in 2000. The US medical authorities would declare an end to measles elimination status following twelve months of uncontrolled virus transmission.
World may be ‘post-herd immunity’ to measles, top US scientist says
— 💧John Holmes🐨 (@jhaue) May 4, 2025
As infections pummel communities in the US, Mexico and Canada, fear of ‘the most contagious human disease’ growshttps://t.co/Cg0RNBWs9I
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded 935 confirmed measles cases throughout 30 jurisdictions as of 1 May.
Three out of every ten young children under the age of five who participated in the outbreak spent time in hospital care among the 285 patients.
Cross-Border Outbreaks Grip the Americas
Three major outbreak clusters simultaneously occurring in Canada, Mexico, and the United States represent the main source of about 2,300 measles cases that have infected the World Health Organization’s (WHO) six-country Americas region based on recent health authority data.
The high-risk status for measles continues to rise throughout the Americas, where numbers are 11 times higher than 2024 reports.
Recent data provided by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization shows that measles cases across Europe extended to double the 2023 rate during 2024.
The measles cases from 2024 in Europe demonstrated seasonal trends even though seasonal patterns had not been observed in the time span from 2021 through 2023.
Among European countries that reported 35,212 measles cases for 2024, the majority (87%) occurred within Romania.
Falling Vaccination Rates Blamed
According to the ECDC, the decline in vaccine rates transformed into the recent surge in measles cases because Hungary, Malta, and Portugal are the only three nations where residents received both required doses of the measles vaccine at least 95%.
“This virus was imported, traveling country to country,” as per Leticia Ruíz, the director of prevention and disease control in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Reports show that most cases occur in regions where Mennonite communities live together in dense groups.
The religious group originated from migrations through the American southwest and continued through Canada as well as Mexico.
An academic of Mennonite beliefs stated that the religion does not have specific rules that forbid immunization initiatives.
Public health authorities maintain minimal contact with the Texas Mennonite community since some members deny assimilation and speak Low German, thereby lowering the vaccination rates of community members.
Immunologists warn that human diseases and associated hardships will rise because the US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr promoted deceptive vaccine information while eroding public trust in vaccines, making vaccines difficult to obtain, dismantling health infrastructure, and driving vaccine experts from government service.
A ‘universal’ influenza vaccine trial received NIH approval with USD 500 million in funding at a time when the administration shows negative attitudes toward Covid-19 vaccine initiatives.