<span style="color: #222222;">In US, the number of measles patients has reached a record high and may cause the nation to lose its measles elimination status, US health officials say.<br />''<br />''Sixty new cases were reported in the past week, bringing this year's total to 971 cases in 26 US states – the highest since 1994. The disease was declared effectively eliminated from the US in 2000. Recent outbreaks have been attributed to foreign travellers spreading it to those lacking vaccinations in the US.<br />''<br />''The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement yesterday, that if these outbreaks continue, the United States may lose its measles elimination status. The measles elimination goal, first announced in 1963 and accomplished in 2000, was a monumental task, he said.<br />''<br />''This year's tally of 971 means the US has already broken the 1994 record – 963 infections – in only the first five months of 2019.</span><br />