Measles cases in U.S. reach 940, highest count since 1994

May 28 (UPI) -- The number of measles cases in the United States hit 940 last week, the highest number reported since 1994, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday.

This included 60 new cases from the prior week.

Measles outbreaks have been reported in Butte, Los Angeles and Sacramento Counties in California, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Rockland County and New York City in New York State, according to the CDC.

Many of these cases were brought on by people who traveled to Israel, Ukraine, and the Philippines, which all have large ongoing measles outbreaks.

The agency says the virus can spread when clusters of people within a community remain unvaccinated, and when people arrive in the United States after contracting the virus abroad.

So far, states with confirmed cases of include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, and Washington.

Last year, only 372 cases were reported and 2017 only saw 120 cases.

So far in 2019, the World Health Organization reports that 170 countries have reported 112,163 measles cases, although it estimates that 1 in 10 cases gets actually get reported.

Around the globe, measles caused 110,000 deaths in 2017, the latest year for available estimates.

Babies between ages 6 and 11 months should receive one dose of the measles vaccine, CDC says. Anyone over 1-year-old should get their first dose immediately, followed by a second dose after 28 days.

One dose gives 93 percent protection against measles-mumps-rubella, while two provide 97 percent.

A measles infection can cause high fever that can reach 104 degrees, a cough, red eyes and a rash.

"What [this year's increase in cases] shows us is that our ability to control measles is fragile," Nancy Messonnier, acting director of the National Center for Preparedness and Response at the CDC, told CNBC.