Measles Outbreak in New York City

Tara Culp Ressler, writing for Think Progress:

Federal health officials have already been able to connect the dots here. Last fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report warning that anti-vaccine beliefs have fueled a rise in measles cases. Researchers noted that 2013 saw the highest number of measles cases in nearly two decades, and 80 percent of those cases occurred among unvaccinated people — most of whom cited “philosophical differences” with the MMR vaccine.

Is this anti-vaccination movement just a U.S. thing, or is it spreading in other countries too?

Update: Reader responses make clear that this is not just a U.S. thing; it’s a problem in a slew of first-world countries today.

★ Friday, 14 March 2014