Measles cases have hit a high not seen in years, and many of these cases have been linked to importations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Development had received reports of 288 cases as of May 23, only eight were not linked to importations, MedPage Today reported.
This is the highest number reached since 1994; that year 763 cases were reported by May 23.
"This year we are breaking records for measles, and it's a wake-up call because we don't have to let this get even worse," Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases told MedPage Today.
Travelers are urged to receive vaccinations for the disease before leaving the country.
The measles have been imported from 18 countries this year, but the majority of the cases have been from the Philippines.
"Measles is coming in airplanes," Schuchat said, and "imported measles is landing in places in the U.S. where unvaccinated people live."
The CDC reported that 69 percent of the measles cases reported this year occurred in unvaccinated people and 20 percent were in people with an unknown vaccination status, Medical News Today reported.
Of the 195 patients who contracted the illness and were not vaccinated, "165 had refused the shots for religious, philosophical, or personal reasons. Another 11 had missed opportunities for vaccination, and 10 were too young for immunization," MedPage Today reported.
Medical practitioners are urged to be on the lookout for signs of the measles in their patients.
"We really want measles on the differential for any patients returning from overseas with high fevers," Schuchat said.
Signs of the measles include: "Blotchy rash; Fever; Cough; Runny nose; Red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis); Feeling run down, achy (malaise); Tiny white spots with bluish-white centers found inside the mouth (Koplik's spots)," the CDC reported.
The illness is extrmely contagious and can easily infect anybody who has not recieved the measles vaccine.
