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Measles has been eliminated from the Americas , but that does n’t mean country in that region have seen their last cases , experts say .

On Tuesday ( Sept. 27 ) , thePan American Health Organization(which is part of the United Nations ) declare morbilli , a very contagious viral illness , to be eliminated from area in the Americas . This include all the state in North , South and Central America , and the Caribbean .

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A single virus particle, or “viron”, of the measles virus.

excreting of measles in the Americas mean that there are no more measles cases originating in those countries . In other word , any cases , or clump of cases , that occur in the Americas come from countries outside the Americas , say Dr. Amesh Adalja , an infectious - disease specializer and a fourth-year associate at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center ’s Center for Health Security . When this happens , these cases are touch to as " imported vitrine , " because they originated outside a country . [ The 9 Deadliest virus on ground ]

The United States eliminated measles in the year 2000 , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Since then , the United States has experienced a issue ofmeasles outbreakstied to imported cases . In 2015 , the United States had 189 rubeola cases , many of which were tied to an outbreak of morbilli that started at Disneyland in California , in all probability when a traveler with measles claver the park , the CDC allege .

So far this year , 54 people in the United States have been infected with rubeola , and all of these case were linked to an imported causa of rubeola , accord to the CDC .

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A single virus particle, or “viron”, of the measles virus.

In every U.S. measles eruption that has come since 2000 , authorities have been able to stop the banquet of the disease within a matter of months , so rubeola is not continuously go around here .

But it ’s possible that measles could " fare back , " or become autochthonic , to the United States or any other country in the Americas , if not enough the great unwashed in the region are immunise against the disease .

" What ’s keep measles at bay flop now in the Americas is our high vaccination pace , " Adalja said . " Any corrosion in that vaccination rate would give measles a chance to re - institute itself , " in the region , Adalja said .

A woman holds her baby as they receive an MMR vaccine

The World Health Organization says that country should aim to have at least 95 percentage of their populationvaccinated against measlesin 80 pct of its city so as to forbid the spread of rubeola from imported case .

TheDisneyland measles outbreakwas attributed to low rates of vaccination in the communities where case occurred . In those communities , the vaccination pace was as blue as 50 percentage , according to a 2015 study .

Adalja noted that one reason it ’s important to maintain a high inoculation rate in the Americas is that there is always go to be a small number of mass who are susceptible to the disease . These let in children who are too vernal to be vaccinated , those with certain resistant conditions who can not be immunise and masses who do n’t uprise adequate protection from the measles vaccine . These susceptible people can cut measles and open it to others , if not enough people in a given area are protect from measles with vaccination .

a close-up of a child�s stomach with a measles rash

The evacuation of rubeola from the Americas is " a major milepost , " Adalja say . " But it does n’t mean we can let up on inoculation . "

Original clause onLive Science .

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