The US government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that there could be a possible outbreak of measles in the US because of American tourists returning from Europe.

Health experts are concerned that the sporting events including London Olympics and the Euro 2012 soccer cup in Poland and Ukraine can become a place where American tourists can come in contact with measles infection and could spread it in the US when they return home.

The infection is prevalent in Europe and caused eight deaths and 26,000 illnesses in the previous year, compared to 214 measles cases in the US in 2011.

Rebecca Martin, director of the CDC's Global Immunization Division said, "Disease knows no borders. We are concerned about Americans coming back from the Olympics this summer and unknowingly infecting others."

Martin also said that there is a huge outbreak happening in Ukraine at present. Americans, who are traveling to the country are advised to get vaccinated before traveling here to avoid contracting the virus.

Every measles case costs an estimated $160,000 to treat in the United States' healthcare system and about a third of those infected would require hospital treatment.