The Chicago measles outbreak, the worst in the U.S., is over after cases were discovered at a Pilsen migrant shelter in March.
As of last week, there were a total of 142 measles cases across the U.S. Nineteen other states reported cases, though there were only nine other areas of the country reporting outbreaks of three or more infections."Our goal is the elimination of measles in Chicago and everywhere," said Public Health Commissioner Olusimbo Ige. "With proper vaccination coverage, we know that zero is possible.
Despite a high vaccination rate, Chicago became a susceptible area to the extremely contagious disease. "The shelter-associated outbreak was a combination of both an initial case in an unvaccinated individual, combined with a congregate living situation that made it incredibly easy to spread among a population of incompletely vaccinated individuals," she said.