US Faces ‘Time Clock’ on Measles Control, WHO Official Says

Almost a year into the worst US measles outbreak in decades, the World Health Organization voiced concern about the country’s ability to get the respiratory virus under control.

Canada this month lost its status as a measles-free country, and comments from the agency’s top immunization official suggest the US could be next as ongoing outbreaks since January expose deepening immunity gaps in several states.

“There is a time clock, which is a 12-month time clock for any country to try to end the outbreaks,” the director of the agency’s immunization department, Kate O’Brien, said at a media briefing. “We’re ...