U.S. measles cases jump almost 20% in a week

The number of confirmed measles cases in the U.S. this year jumped nearly 20% in the past week, according to the CDC. Until April 4, the agency had recorded 465 cases of measles, but that number shot up to 555 by April 11. The cases are spread across 20 states, with most of last week’s occurring in New York, where two outbreaks are ongoing. In New York City, which has recorded 329 cases since last October, the health department just announced that it had closed a child care center for failing to provide vaccination records in compliance with an emergency order.

The WHO on Monday also announced a surge in measles cases worldwide. So far this year, 112,163 people have been sickened with measles across 170 countries — a 300% increase compared to the number of cases at the same point last year.