The United States is experiencing the biggest outbreak of measles since 1996. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is worried that too many children are not protected.

Dr. Jane Seward, Deputy Director of the CDC's Division of Viral Diseases, says 1 in 10 children do not have their MMR vaccine by the age of two.  She says fifteen states had vaccination coverage rates of less than ninety percent.

Measles is rare in this country because most people got vaccinated at a young age, but we are in the midst of an outbreak in New York City, North Carolina and Texas. Measles is still prevalent in other parts of the world, and travelers, who are not protected, could bring the disease back into the country.

Measles causes fever, runny nose, cough and a rash all over the body.  About one out of every 10 children with measles also gets an ear infection, and up to one out of 20 gets pneumonia. The CDC says for every one thousand children who get measles, one out of two will die.