- Les Décodeurs Les Décodeurs
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By Pierre Breteau
Published yesterday at 6:00 pm (Paris), updated yesterday at 6:06 pmSubscribers only
In GraphsThe United States faces an unprecedented outbreak of measles, which has reappeared after being eliminated in 2000. Behind the outbreak is vaccine skepticism within the Trump administration and parts of the American public.
Measles continues to spread throughout the United States against a backdrop of declining vaccination rates. The start of the school year is likely to further facilitate the transmission of the disease. There were 2,813 reported cases as of August 21, marking the highest number of Morbillivirus hominis infections since the 1990s. The tally surpasses the annual total for 2025 (2,286 cases), and it is nearly 10 times more than the total for 2024 (282 cases).
The virus, the most contagious in the world, poses a nightmare for public health agencies. "One person can infect between 15 and 20 others if they are not vaccinated," said epidemiologist Antoine Flahault, compared to just one or two for the flu. "The flip side of this very high contagiousness is that it requires an extremely high vaccination rate, exceeding 95% of the population," added the Paris Cité University professor of public health.
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