Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated numbers of measles cases in the United States and through May 10, 839 measles cases have been reported in 23 states.

This is an increase of 75 cases from the previous week. This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.

A number of outbreaks have been reported this year, most notably the outbreak in Brooklyn.

A new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases identifies the counties at the highest risk for measles outbreaks according to their analysis.

Joining me today is the lead author of the study, Sahotra Sarkar, PhD. Dr. Sarkar is a philosophy and integrative biology professor at the University of Texas at Austin.