Public health officials are warning the tens of thousands of Americans traveling to Europe for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to check their measles vaccination status, according to Healthline.
Here are three things to know:
1. In 2017, Europe reported a spikes in measles cases, with 21,315 infections and 35 deaths, according to data from the World Health Organization.
2. With such a high incidence of measles, the CDC is concerned Americans may contract the disease and bring it back to the U.S. The agency recommends any American traveling to Europe this summer receive at least at least one dose of the mumps, measles and rubella vaccine.
"We actually recommend that all travelers are up to date with all the routine vaccinations," Gary Brunette, MD, chief of the CDC's Travelers' Health branch, told Healthline.
3.However, William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said Europe has seen a spike in measles cases before, and few American travelers spread the disease back to the U.S.
"The risks are probably pretty darn low," he told Healthline.
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