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Texas’ Worst Measles Outbreak in 30 Years Spreads to New Mexico
Measles cases in Texas have nearly doubled in the past two weeks, making it the worst outbreak the state has seen in three decades. Now, cases are spreading into neighboring New Mexico.
(Bloomberg) -- Measles cases in Texas have nearly doubled in the past two weeks, making it the worst outbreak the state has seen in three decades. Now, cases are spreading into neighboring New Mexico.
Texas has reported 58 measles cases so far, and 13 of the patients have been hospitalized.
The epicenter is in Gaines County, Texas, a rural area in the South Plains region where nearly one in five children are unvaccinated. The county is home to a large Mennonite community, and members often apply for exemptions to school vaccine mandates for religious reasons.
This has left people exposed to the highly contagious disease and created a “ground zero for an outbreak,” Austin-based pediatrician Ari Brown said. She said that there are probably a few hundred unreported cases, and expects the outbreak will grow in the coming weeks.
Gaines County borders with Lea County, New Mexico, and state health officials said Wednesday it now has eight measles cases identified. Six patients were unvaccinated, with five of those coming from the same household, according to Miranda Durham, chief medical officer at the New Mexico Department of Health.
“We aren’t naive to the thought that it could spread outside of Lea County,” Durham said. The county is offering free measles vaccine clinics through the next two weeks, with the first mobile clinic starting Wednesday.
Measles can be deadly. Potential complications include pneumonia and brain swelling that sometimes lead to lasting disabilities, and it kills between one and three children of every 1,000 infected, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The disease was declared eradicated from the US in 2000 with no continuous spread for more than 12 months, but pockets of outbreaks have popped up in recent years. In 2019, the US saw its largest outbreak nationally with more than 1,200 cases in 31 states, largely among close-knit and unvaccinated communities. Chicago reported nearly 60 cases from an outbreak in a migrant shelter last year, adding to the 285 total cases recorded in 2024.
More than half of the 120 Americans hospitalized last year for measles were under the age of five, according to the CDC.
The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, commonly known as MMR, is up to 97% effective, according to the CDC. It is recommended for babies at 12 months old, with a second dose at age 5. Local health officials around Gaines County are recommending exposed children between 6 and 11 months get their first dose and a second dose 28 days later to boost immunity.
“Vaccinations are the best tool to protect yourself,” a Texas Department of Health spokesperson said.
Measles is highly contagious — as many as 90% of exposed, unvaccinated people will contract the virus if they are around an infected person. Symptoms often don’t appear until up to 14 days after exposure, weeks after a person is already contagious. Flu-like symptoms appear first — including a high fever, cough and conjunctivitis — before the measles rash appears all over a patient’s body.
The early symptoms make the virus difficult to catch early, especially in an active flu season, said Kim Flemmons, a nurse at West Texas Pediatrics.
People who are pregnant, immunocompromised or under 5 years of age are particularly vulnerable and likely to suffer from complications like pneumonia or brain swelling, according to the CDC.
Measles was in the national spotlight this month during the contentious Senate confirmation hearings for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become secretary of Health and Human Services. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said Kennedy’s spread of misinformation around the measles vaccine “contributed to the deaths of 83 children” in Samoa. Kennedy denied making statements about vaccines in Samoa and tried to distance himself from his previous anti-vaccine rhetoric.
Kennedy was confirmed by the Senate in a 52-48 vote earlier this month after he assured Louisiana Republican Bill Cassidy that he would give 30-day’s notice before trying to change vaccine guidance, and that the CDC will keep language denying that vaccines cause autism on its website.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
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First Published:20 Feb 2025, 01:08 AM IST
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