US sees largest measles outbreak in 25 years

The measles outbreak has been described as "completely avoidable".

American health officials have reported that more than 700 people have been infected by measles this year, marking a 25-year high for the highly infectious disease.

According to the BBC, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday that cases had been recorded in 22 states and were mostly affecting unvaccinated children. The country recorded a total of 78 new measles cases last week for a total of 704 cases so far this year, the greatest number in a quarter century. "The suffering we are seeing today is completely avoidable," US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on Monday. Azar also urged people to vaccinate themselves against the illnesses, praising their worth, saying: "We know vaccines are safe because they're among some of the most studied medical products we have." Although the figures are being labelled "concerning", there have been no deaths reported as as result of the recent outbreak. A total of 22 states in America have recorded cases of the extremely contagious and sometimes deadly disease.