The Pan American Health Organization has removed the United States' status as a country where endemic transmission of measles has been eliminated, sources told the Wall Street Journal.
According to the media, in 2026 more than 5,400 cases of measles were recorded in the United States, which was the highest number in several decades. In November alone, five fatal cases were recorded in the states of Pennsylvania, New York and Wisconsin as a result of unrelated outbreaks of the disease.
To return to status, Washington must achieve a break in continued transmission of the virus for at least 12 months. The paper noted that this could take years.