At least 44 unvaccinated children in the Columbus, Ohio, region have been infected with measles since the first few cases were confirmed in early November, according to a dashboard run by the city's health department.
Health officials say the cases are associated with 17 day care centers and schools in the area. All the confirmed cases so far have been among unvaccinated children, according to the dashboard. Seventeen of the children have been hospitalized and there have been no reported deaths.
Three more notes:
1. The CDC has deployed a small team to assist the region with investigating the outbreak. The agency is assisting Columbus health officials with contract tracing and working with the affected facilities. Earlier this month, a spokesperson for Columbus Public Health told CNN that affected schools and daycares are keeping unvaccinated students out of the facility for 21 days after the latest case.
2. Fifty-seven percent of the confirmed cases are among children 1 to 2 years old, and 18 percent are among kids 3 to 5. Six of the children are younger than one year old and five are between the ages of 6 and 17.
3. Ohio's outbreak comes as the CDC and World Health Organization warn that measles now presents an "imminent threat" for every part of the world. The pandemic spurred major setbacks in global efforts to eliminate the disease, with nearly 40 million children having missed a vaccine dose in 2021, the groups said.