Vermont has confirmed its first case of measles in 2025. A child was infected with the virus while on a trip abroad. Health officials say the risk of the patient spreading the virus to the public is low is believed to be low since the child has avoided from most public spaces since returning home. Vermont is the 15th state to report at least one measles case this year. The other states include New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington.
Measles is on the rise not just in the US but globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF found that in 2024, Europe had the most cases of any year since 1997. The continent reported 127,350 cases. Four out of every ten cases were kids younger than 5 years old. The majority of the cases required hospitalization.
