NATION IN BRIEF : GEORGIA : Measles Deaths Soar to 18-Year High

The measles explosion of 1989, involving unvaccinated preschoolers and schoolchildren whose shots didn’t work, has been accompanied by the most measles deaths in 18 years, federal health officials said. Forty-two deaths from measles have been reported this year, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control said. That’s the largest death count since 90 in 1971, a CDC spokesman noted. Nationwide, 14,714 measles cases were counted with two weeks left in the year, the CDC reported. That’s more than five times the 2,876 cases reported at this point a year ago. Large measles outbreaks are continuing in Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, primarily among young blacks and Latinos, the CDC noted.