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As outbreaks of measles spread throughout the world, anti-vaccine activists aren’t just urging people not to get vaccinated — they’re taking a page from a well-worn playbook, falsely downplaying the dangers from the highly contagious respiratory disease. ... But national health agencies warn the fear of measles is well-founded. ... For every 1,000 cases of  measles, about 200 children may be hospitalized, 50 may get pneumonia, one child may develop brain swelling along with deafness or disability, and between one and three may die. (Zadrozny, 2/5)

Researchers show that the passage of a bill in New York state that banned nonmedical vaccine exemptions for school entry was associated with an increase in vaccine uptake outside of New York City, according to a study late last week in JAMA Network Open. The bill, Senate Bill 2994A, was passed by state lawmakers in June 2019 after two large measles outbreaks in the state almost removed the country's measles elimination status. The bill was effective immediately and did not excuse students with existing nonmedical exemptions from compliance. (Soucheray, 2/5)

Health officials in Ohio are warning of a possible measles exposure on Monday after a person traveled through the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport over a weekend last month. ... "ODH is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other state and local health officials to identify people who might have been exposed, including contacting potentially exposed passengers on specific flights," the agency said. (Sorace, 2/5)

UK health services are battling an outbreak of measles — causing alarm in a nation that had eliminated the disease in 2017. On January 19, the UK Health Security Agency, the public-health authority, declared a national incident over rising cases of measles. The agency has logged more than 300 cases in England since October 1. A decline in uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is given in two doses, during the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the spread of the disease across England and the rest of Europe, while small outbreaks have occurred in a handful of US states. (Wong, 1/31)

Rio de Janeiro on Monday has declared a public health emergency because of an outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue fever, the city announced Monday, just days before Carnival celebrations kick off across Brazil. The outbreak wasn’t expected to derail Carnival, which officially starts Friday evening and runs until Feb. 14, but it has prompted a slew of special measures by the city in hopes of containing the illness. (Hughes, 2/5)