Measles Cases Could Cost the U.S. Its Elimination Status. Here's What That Means.

Losing the status is a far bigger deal than most people likely know, and getting it back is no fast or easy feat.

The U.S. has reported more measles cases in the first half of this year than in any full year since 1992, raising concerns that the country could lose its measles elimination status and undo a 25-year public health victory amid declining vaccine rates.

But exactly what does that risk mean and how close is it to really happening?

The World Health Organization sets the criteria for elimination status, requiring a country — or defined geographical area — to go at least 12 months without continuous domestic transmission of a virus. That means any new outbreaks during that time must come from people who contracted the virus from outside, not inside, the U.S.

Under that criteria, the U.S. has until January to eliminate the nation’s current outbreaks, which is a year after cases started domestically in Texas, according to epidemiology experts. If it doesn’t, the U.S.’s measles elimination status could be taken away.

“It could be more impactful than a lot of Americans think about since we have had measles elimination status for so long,” Brittany Kmush, associate professor and graduate director of Syracuse University’s Public Health Department, told HuffPost.