Measles outbreaks in the U.S. and abroad are raising health experts’ concern about the preventable, once-common childhood virus.

One of the world’s most contagious diseases, measles can lead to potentially serious complications. The best defense, according to experts? Get vaccinated.

Here’s what to know about the year — so far — in measles.

How many measles cases has the U.S. seen this year?

Nationwide, measles cases already are nearly double the total for all of last year.

The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention documented 113 cases as of April 5. There have been seven outbreaks and most of U.S. cases — 73% — are linked to those flare-ups.

Still, the count is lower than some recent years: 2014 saw 667 cases and 2019 had 1,274.

Why is this a big deal?

The 2019 measles epidemic was the worst in almost three decades, and threatened the United States’ status as a country that has eliminated measles by stopping the continual spread of the measles virus.

The CDC on Thursday released a report on recent measles case trends, noting that cases in the first three months of this year were 17 times higher than the average number seen in the first three months of the previous three years.

While health officials seem to be doing a good job detecting and responding to outbreaks, “the rapid increase in the number of reported measles cases during the first quarter of 2024 represents a renewed threat to elimination,” the report’s authors said.

Where is measles coming from?

The disease is still common in many parts of the world, and measles reaches the U.S. through unvaccinated travelers.

According to Thursday’s report, most of the recent importations involved unvaccinated Americans who got infected in the Middle East and Africa and brought measles back to the U.S.

Where were this year’s U.S. measles outbreaks?

Health officials confirmed measles cases in 17 states so far this year, including cases in New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago.

More than half of this year’s cases come from the Chicago outbreak, where 61 people have contracted the virus as of Thursday, largely among people who lived in a migrant shelter.

The city health department said Thursday that cases are on the decline after health officials administered 14,000 vaccines in just over a month.

How does measles spread?

Measles is highly contagious. It spreads when people who have it breathe, cough or sneeze and through contaminated surfaces. It also can linger in the air for two hours.

Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the CDC.

Measles used to be common among kids. How bad was it?

Before a vaccine became available in 1963, there were some 3 million to 4 million cases per year, which meant nearly all American kids had it sometime during childhood, according to the CDC. Most recovered.

But measles can be much more than an uncomfortable rash, said Susan Hassig, an infectious disease researcher at Tulane University.

“I think that people need to remember that this is a preventable disease,” Hassig said. “It is a potentially dangerous disease for their children.”

In the decade before the vaccine was available, 48,000 people were hospitalized per year. About 1,000 people developed dangerous brain inflammation from measles each year, and 400 to 500 died, according to the CDC.

Is the measles vaccine safe? Where do vaccination rates stand?

The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and effective. It is a routine and recommended childhood vaccine that is split into two doses.

Research shows it takes a very high vaccination rate to prevent measles from spreading: 95% of the population should have immunity against the virus.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, national vaccination rates for kindergartners fell to 93% and remain there. Many pockets of the country have far lower rates than that. The drop is driven in part by record numbers of kids getting waivers.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This is the moment Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell have been waiting for since they sat alongside each other during their introductory press conference on Feb. 17, 2022.

They talked all about collaboration at the time as they helped the Vikings usher in a new era. They projected how good they could be in the present with Kirk Cousins under center, while still making sure to focus on the future. They kept their eye on this draft class, in particular, knowing that’s where they would potentially be able to select their next quarterback.

Now all they have to do is go out and execute a plan that has been a couple of years in the making.

As the Vikings prepare for the 2024 NFL Draft on April 25-27, they do so in possession of the No. 11 pick of the first round, with the No. 23 pick in their back pocket. That should be more than enough ammunition to make a blockbuster deal.

That’s important because they are probably going to have to trade up to have a chance at drafting one of three quarterbacks — LSU’s Jayden Daniels, North Carolina’s Drake Maye or Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.

Though it’s unclear which quarterback the Vikings have ranked the highest, Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell should be willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they get the guy they want.

It’s impossible for the Vikings to overpay in the pursuit of their next quarterback.

Let’s say they like Daniels or Maye and either the Washington Commanders, who have the No. 2 pick, or the New England Patriots, who have the No. 3 pick, are asking for a king’s ransom in return.

Doing a deal shouldn’t even be a question for the Vikings if they can get somebody of that caliber.

Let’s say they also like McCarthy, and either the Arizona Cardinals, who have the No. 4 pick, or the Los Angeles Chargers, who have the No. 5 pick, agree to move back if the price is right.

It would be worth it for the Vikings to do a deal rather than run the risk another team jumping them in line.

You can’t afford to settle at this point. Not with a decision of this magnitude.

Look no further than the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs for a case study in how trading up can pay off. They honed in on Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes ahead of the 2017 draft, and they made sure they got him. It was a similar story for the Buffalo Bills the following year. They fell in love with Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen ahead of the 2018 draft and didn’t sit back and wait for him to fall into their lap.

It’s safe to assume neither the Chiefs nor the Bills are thinking about the draft picks it took to make those deals happen. They are both set at the most important position in sports for the foreseeable future. That’s the only thing that matters.

Sure, for every Mahomes and Allen, there’s the other side of the spectrum, like when the San Francisco 49ers gave up the farm for North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance, or when the Carolina Panthers mortgaged their future for Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.

Just because something is risky doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. The fear of striking out shouldn’t stop the Vikings from trying to hit a home run.

That’s something Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell need to remember as they contemplate how much they’re willing to give up to to make sure they get the guy they want. If they get it right, it won’t matter, because nobody is going to care how much it cost. If they get it wrong, it won’t matter, because they probably won’t be around to see it through.

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By STEVE PEOPLES and JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona was already expected to be one of the most closely contested states in November’s U.S. presidential election. But a ruling this week instituting a near-total abortion ban supercharged the state’s role, transforming it into perhaps the nation’s most critical battleground.

This Sunbelt state with a fierce independent streak has long been at the forefront of the nation’s immigration debate due to its 378-mile border with Mexico and its large Hispanic and immigrant populations. It now moves to the center of the national debate over reproductive rights after the U.S. Supreme Court ended a federally guaranteed right to abortion.

Abortion and immigration have been two of this year’s biggest political issues. No battleground state has been affected more directly by both than Arizona.

“Do not underestimate this,” Democratic pollster John Anzalone, who polls for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, said of the Arizona abortion ruling. “It’s dynamic-changing.”

Biden and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump are expected to fight hard to win Arizona after Biden carried the state four years ago by less than 11,000 votes.

In addition to the presidency, the U.S. Senate majority may be decided by the state’s high-profile contest between Republican Kari Lake and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego in the race to replace retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

The state Supreme Court’s ruling reviving an abortion ban passed in 1864 also added rocket fuel to Democrats’ push to add a question to the November ballot asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment protecting the right to abortion until viability, when a fetus could survive outside the womb. Later abortions would be allowed to save the woman’s life or protect her physical or mental health.

Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita, who also serves as chief of staff to the Republican National Committee, described Arizona as “a key part of the strategy.”

He declined to discuss any specifics on strategy but disagreed that the abortion ruling fundamentally changed Arizona’s dynamics.

“Is abortion an issue that the campaign has to deal with in the battleground states — and more specifically in Arizona? Absolutely. We feel that we are doing that and we are exceeding what we need to do,” LaCivita said, even as he suggested other issues would be more salient for most Arizona voters this fall.

“The election is going to be determined really in large part based on the key issues that the vast majority of Arizonans have to deal with every single day, and that’s, ‘Can I afford to put food on the table and feed my family and get in the car to go to work?’” he said.

Democrats are quick to note that they have won virtually every major election in which abortion was on the ballot since the June 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade.

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The Biden campaign on Thursday launched a statewide abortion-related advertising campaign that it said would reach seven figures, although ad tracking firms had yet to confirm the new investment. The new ads come in addition to a $30 million nationwide advertising blitz that was already underway, according to Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz.

In the new ad, Biden links Arizona’s abortion restrictions directly to Trump.

“Your body and your decisions belong to you, not the government, not Donald Trump,” Biden says. “I will fight like hell to get your freedom back.”

Beyond the ad campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to appear in Arizona on Friday to highlight the Democrats’ dedication to preserving abortion rights.

Even without this week’s abortion ruling, Democrats were already betting big on Arizona this fall.

Biden’s team is on track to spend more than $22 million on Arizona advertising between April 1 and Election Day, according to data collected by the ad tracking firm AdImpact. That’s millions more than other swing states like Wisconsin, Georgia and Nevada. Only Pennsylvania and Michigan are seeing more Democratic advertising dollars.

Trump’s team, meanwhile, isn’t spending anything on Arizona advertising this month and hasn’t yet reserved any general election advertising in the state, according to AdImpact.

Yet Trump remains bullish on the state, which had backed a Republican presidential candidate in every election since 1996 before it narrowly supported Biden in 2020. They point to a modest shift among Hispanic voters, a core group in the Democratic coalition, which may be more open to Trump.

Meanwhile, Arizona Republicans are still bogged down by GOP infighting in a state where the party apparatus built and nurtured by the late Sen. John McCain has been usurped by Trump’s “Make America Great Again” loyalists.

The division came to a head in the 2022 primary for governor, when Trump and his allies lined up enthusiastically behind Kari Lake, while traditional conservatives and the business establishment backed her rival.

Lake won the primary. Rather than mend fences with the vanquished establishment, she gloated that she “drove a stake through the heart of the McCain machine.” She’s since made a more concerted effort behind the scenes to win over her GOP critics, with mixed results.

Lake, a major MAGA figure sometimes discussed as a potential Trump running mate, is now running in the state’s high-profile Senate race.

Like Trump, she has come out against the latest abortion ruling, arguing it is too restrictive. But two years ago, Lake called the abortion ban “a great law,” said she was “incredibly thrilled” that it was on the books and predicted it would be “setting the course for other states to follow.”

The ruling played straight into the hands of Gallego, her Democratic rival, who had already put abortion rights at the center of his pitch to Arizona voters.

“I think we were on our way to winning this,” he said in an interview. “I think what it does is it focuses people’s attention on abortion rights that maybe weren’t thinking about it as the most important thing or one of the top issues.”

Meanwhile, Anzalone, the Biden pollster, warned his party against overconfidence.

“It’s not going to be easy. These are all close races. I’m not getting ahead of myself in any way,” he said of the fight for Arizona this fall. “But we like the advantage we have there.”