Measles cases break record since disease was eliminated in United States in 2000

Measles cases in the United States have now exceeded the highest number on record in a single year since the disease was eliminated in 2000.

Nationwide, 695 cases of the vaccine-preventable illness had been reported in 22 states this year, as of 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to a statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s more than the 667 cases reported in 2014, when one large outbreak, primarily among unvaccinated people in Amish communities in Ohio, accounted for more than half of the total that year.