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1963Measles

History of measles: Outbreaks and vaccine timeline

Learn about the development, approval and impact of the measles vaccine.

Measles virus

Measles virus

The measles virus that causes measles

1954

Drs. John F. Enders and Thomas C. Peebles isolate the measles virus, called the Edmonston strain, in tissue. It’s used to develop many other vaccines.

1963

Dr. Enders and his colleagues develop the live attenuated Edmonston B measles vaccine. This vaccine and a second measles vaccine are licensed in 1963. Two other live attenuated measles vaccines will be licensed in 1965 and 1968. More than 500,000 cases of measles occurred each year in the U.S. in the 20th century compared with 13 cases in 2020.

1971

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are combined into the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine in the U.S.

2000

Measles is considered eliminated in the U.S.

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