No new measles cases since outbreak first began 

Here’s some good news on the measles front: U.S. officials reported yesterday that for the first time since the current measles outbreak began, no new cases were reported last week. This still means that 1,241 have become ill with the disease in 31 states since the start of the year. The majority of the cases have been in those who haven’t been vaccinated against the disease. The sheer number of cases have come close to threatening the U.S.’s measles-elimination status, since this recent outbreak is the worst since measles was considered eliminated here in 2000. “I think it’s a hopeful sign,” STAT’s infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell tells me about yesterday’s news. “There is a possibility the elimination status won’t be lost, but the next few weeks are going to be important.”