In an upcoming PHR article, Centers for Disease Control researchers Dr. Philip Smith, Ms. Jane Seward, and Dr. Zhen Zhao, and Dr. Edgar Marcuse, from Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Walter Orenstein, Emory,  evaluate the extent to which children and adolescents who are unvaccinated against measles cluster within U.S. counties.

In 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared measles to be eliminated in the United States, an accomplishment achieved because of the high levels of population immunity resulting from high measles vaccination coverage levels across the United States. Despite the elimination of endemic measles in the United States, sporadic outbreaks have continued as a consequence of importations from countries where measles is endemic. High national and state measles vaccination coverage rates may mask considerable variability in vaccination rates at the county or community level. Geographic clustering of susceptible children and adolescents increases the risk of outbreaks and could lead to reestablishment of endemic measles transmission.

This week’s PHR feature article, Children and Adolescents Unvaccinated Against Measles: Geographic Clustering, Parents’ Beliefs, and Missed Opportunities, may be viewed here.

The official journal of the U.S. Public Health Service and the U.S. Surgeon General since 1878, PHR serves as an informative and accessible resource for practitioners, professors, scholars, and students of public health. Published in collaboration with the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), the bi-monthly, peer-reviewed journal provides important research and presents key discussions on the major issues confronting the public health community. For full access to current content, visit the Public Health Reports website to subscribe.

*Smith P, Marcuse E, Seward J, Zhao Z, Orenstein W. Children and Adolescents Unvaccinated Against Measles: Geographic Clustering, Parents’ Beliefs, and Missed Opportunities. Public Health Rep 2015 Sep-Oct [Epub ahead of print].