Measles Breaks Modern Records with 704 Reported Cases

The highly contagious disease measles has made a massive comeback as outbreaks crop up across the U.S. There have been a total of 704 reported cases so far this year.

The number of measles cases in the U.S. has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the year. It has now reached a record high.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that there have been 704 cases reported nationally so far this year.  The ongoing outbreaks in the last four months have caused this year's number of cases to break the record set last year. 

Last week, there were only 626 confirmed cases for 2019. At that time, officials said that "in the coming weeks" the number of confirmed cases in 2019 were expected to surpass the prior record set in 2014.

The 2014 record was set at 667 cases. The record was shattered long before the initial prediction and was broken in less than a week.

Cases have been reported in 22 states. The biggest outbreaks are located in Rockland County and Brooklyn, New York.

The outbreaks in New York date back to October 2018.  Since then there have been a total of 202 cases in Rockland County and 390 cases in Brooklyn and Queens.

The CDC currently has nine ongoing outbreaks listed. It states that each of the outbreaks "is linked to travelers who brought measles back from other countries such as Israel, Ukraine, and the Philippines, where large measles outbreaks are occurring."