Reported cases of measles in the United States have hit their highest level in 35 years, according to the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC has recorded 2,318 cases so far this year, higher than the 2,289 cases for all of last year, it announced on Friday. The combined number of cases in the last three years has surpassed the total in the previous 25 years.
The outbreak has already caused the deaths of three people, the first since 2015, including two children, the first of which was reportedly an unvaccinated child in Lubbock, Texas.
Twenty percent of recorded cases this year were children under 5 years old. Another 49 percent were those from 5 to 19 years old.
"We are witnessing an avoidable crisis that disproportionately hurts children," Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told media. "We should not accept this as our new normal."
