Contagious Diseases in the United States from 1888 to the Present

Using data from digitized weekly surveillance reports of notifiable diseases for U.S. cities and states for 1888 through 2011, the authors derived a quantitative history of disease reduction in the United States, focusing particularly on the effects of vaccination programs. Public health programs — especially vaccination programs — have led to dramatic declines in the incidence of contagious diseases in the United States over the past century. 1 – 3 However, some contagious diseases are now on the rise despite the availability of vaccines. Pertussis vaccines have been available since the 1920s, but the worst pertussis epidemic since 1959 occurred in 2012, with more than 38,000 cases nationwide reported by last December. 4 , 5 Outbreaks of measles also continue to occur, even though a measles vaccine has been licensed in the United States since 1963. 6 The current low overall incidence of contagious diseases . . .