Nation reintroduces measles after 26-year absence; containment efforts follow infant death

Measles, a disease once declared eliminated in the United States, has returned. The latest outbreak has become the nation’s worst in decades, prompting behind-the-scenes efforts by health officials to contain its spread. These efforts, however, came too late for one Pennsylvania infant, whose death from measles was confirmed by the coroner. The story is all about timing: the disease was gone for 26 years, and now it’s re-established itself, bringing with it the kind of heartbreak that was supposed to be in the history books. The containment plan arrived after the fact—an obituary with a to-do list. Measles, born in 1912, survived by false assurances and the slow gears of public health, preceded in death by trust in vaccines. In lieu of flowers, call your pediatrician and ask for the record. The cost of delay is written in the local paper’s announcements, and the bill comes due in the pediatric ward.