US officials urge measles vaccination

California public health officials, grappling with a measles outbreak that has already sickened 113 people statewide, have urged residents to get vaccinations for themselves and their children before travelling internationally over spring school break.

More than 150 people have been diagnosed with measles across the United States, many of them linked to an outbreak that authorities believe began when an infected person from out of the country visited Disneyland in late December.

The measles outbreak has renewed a debate over the so-called anti-vaccination movement, in which fears about potential side effects of vaccines, fuelled by now-debunked research suggesting a link to autism, have prompted a small minority of parents to refuse inoculations for their children.

Some parents also opt not to have their children vaccinated for religious or other reasons. The California Department of Public Health said that with spring school holidays approaching many Californians were planning trips abroad and that inoculations were especially important.

Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000 after decades of intensive childhood vaccine efforts. But in 2014 the country had its highest number of cases in two decades.