(Reuters) – One new case of measles was reported this weekend in the United States, with the country suffering its worst outbreak of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease in close-to three decades.
The measles case was confirmed on Saturday in an unvaccinated resident of the southeastern U.S. state of Georgia, according to the state’s health department.
The measles outbreak, which began in New York in October 2018, has largely been linked to parents who declined to vaccinate their children. It threatens to end United States’ measles-free status.
As of Oct. 3, the country had recorded 1,250 cases of measles this year from across 31 states.
The individual may have exposed others to the measles virus between Oct. 31 and Nov. 6 and the Georgia Department of Public Health said it was notifying those people.
Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; editing by Rich McKay & Simon Cameron-Moore