WHO: Measles Is Gone from the Americas
Officials expressed caution because imported cases are still possible.
By Kimberly Leonard | Staff Writer Sept. 27, 2016, at 11:53 a.m.
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WHO: Measles Is Gone from the Americas
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Shakeithia Roberts holds her son, Jermaine Roberts , as pediatrician Amanda Porro M.D. administers a measles vaccination during a visit to the Miami Children's Hospital on May 16, 2014 in Miami.
A pediatrician administers a measles vaccination to a child on May 16, 2014, at Miami Children's Hospital. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The World Health Organization on Tuesday declared the region of North and South America to be free of measles, a highly infectious virus that used to kill 500,000 children across the world every year.
"It is the result of a commitment made more than two decades ago when the countries of the Americas committed themselves to ending measles at the turn of the century," Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization, said at a press conference, pointing to aggressive vaccination measures.
She cautioned officials not to become complacent, as the virus still circulates in other regions.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-27/measles-declared-eradicated-in-the-americas
