Arizona now has largest measles outbreak in U.S., likely due to illegal immigrant

Health officials in Arizona attribute the largest current measles outbreak in the United States in part to the refusal of some workers at a federal immigration detention center to get vaccinated.

Authorities have confirmed 22 measles cases in Arizona since late May. All stem from the Eloy Detention Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility managed by the private Corrections Corp. of America.

Pinal County health director Thomas Schryer said that the outbreak probably began with a migrant but that detainees have since been vaccinated. Persuading employees to get vaccinated or show proof of immunity has proved more difficult, he said.

“And so they’re actually the ones that are passing along the measles among each other and then going out into the community,” Schryer said.