US faces record measles surge and reemergence of New World screwworm

The United States has reported a record 2,295 measles cases, the highest annual total since 1991, surpassing the previous year’s 2,289. Health officials attribute the spike to declining MMR vaccination rates, with outbreaks concentrated in South Carolina, Utah, western Texas, Florida and Arizona. Experts note that measles is up to six times more contagious than COVID‑19, and the decline in public‑health funding has left the CDC understaffed and under‑budgeted.

At the same time, the New World screwworm, a flesh‑eating parasitic fly eradicated from the U.S. in the early 1980s, has reappeared after a 44‑year absence, moving north from Central America across the southern border. While historically a threat to livestock, specialists warn that the parasite could affect agricultural workers and, in rare cases, humans. The fly’s return highlights gaps in public‑health awareness and surveillance.

Both incidents underscore growing vulnerabilities in the nation’s disease‑prevention infrastructure and the need for renewed vaccination efforts and monitoring of zoonotic threats.