Science / Medicine : Measles Cases Soar Since 1983

U.S. health officials were nearly ready to pronounce measles eradicated in the United States eight years ago. But cases of the disease have since soared, and doctors say it is because children are not being vaccinated.

More than 26,000 cases of measles were reported in 1990, the federal Centers for Disease Control said last week. That is up from a low of 1,497 in 1983, when health officials considered declaring the disease eradicated in the United States.

So far this year, 4,079 cases have been reported, about half the number at this time last year. But CDC officials said current outbreaks in New York City and elsewhere have not been fully reported yet. There were 97 suspected measles deaths in the nation last year, the most since 261 in 1966, when 200,000 cases were reported.