The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said parents are to blame for the fact that measles cases in the United States have reached the highest point since 1996. The reason is that some parents oppose their children being vaccinated either due to religious or philosophical reasons or out of fear that the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is dangerous. Despite being rubbished by scientists and authoritative medical organizations often, some parents believe that the vaccine cause autism

In 2000, the U.S. government had declared measles to be virtually eradicated with only 63 cases being reported throughout the year. This year 131 cases have already been reported from 15 states and the District of Columbia, and though there were no deaths, fifteen people including four infants were hospitalized. Last year there were only 42 cases reported and the numbers seem to be rapidly rising.

Dr. Jane Seward, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, "We're seeing a lot more spread. That is concerning to us."

Symptoms of measles include fever, rash, cough etc and the disease is severe in children. Severe cases of measles can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, and even death. In this years measles cases barring the children under one year who were too young to be vaccinated, 22 were either unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status and 63 were not vaccinated as the parents refused due to philosophical or religious reasons said the CDC.

The CDC reported that measles in the United States has an infection rate of 90 % for those who are not vaccinated against it. This makes it very important that children are vaccinated to keep them protected.