Deadly measles outbreak: 223 cases now in Texas, 33 in New Mexico
Measles outbreaks continue to spread mostly among unvaccinated children and teens in Texas, New Mexico and now Oklahoma, respective state health officials announced on Tuesday. Photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew Lotz/U.S. Air Force
Adjoining counties in northwest Texas and eastern New Mexico account for 256 cases of measles with 223 in Texas and 33 in New Mexico, respective state health authorities announced Tuesday.
Officials with the Texas Department of State Health Services reported 25 new cases since Friday, raising the total to 233, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Twenty-nine people have been hospitalized in Texas and a child has died during the outbreak in which about 70% of measles cases are located in Gaines County.
The child’s death was the nation’s first known death due to measles since 2015.
Gaines County is situated along the Texas-New Mexico state line and is adjacent to Lea County, N.M., where 32 of New Mexico’s 33 measles cases are located.
The first measles case outside of Lea County was reported Tuesday in Eddy County, N.M., which is adjacent to and west of Lea County, the New Mexico Department of Health announced Tuesday.
The New Mexico Department of Health last week reported an unvaccinated adult male died while infected with the measles virus, making his death the second known to be associated with the measles virus during the outbreak that began in late January.
Most of those affected are unvaccinated children, teens and adults or those whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Health Services Department.
Texas health officials reported 80 cases among unvaccinated individuals and another 138 with unknown vaccination status.
Five measles cases have been recorded among people who received one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in Texas.
Children and teens between ages 5 and 17 account for 98 and children ages 4 and under account for 76 of the known measles cases in Texas.
The measles outbreak probably has spread into nearby Oklahoma, where State Department of Health officials on Tuesday reported two probable cases of measles infection.
Those patients were exposed to the measles strain associated with the outbreak in Texas and New Mexico, but OSDH officials said there is no public health threat due to the two cases.
Health officials in Maryland also have confirmed that state’s first measles case on Sunday.
A Howard County resident who recently traveled internationally tested positive for measles.
State health officials are warning anyone who visited Terminal A of the Washington Dulles International Airport between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST on Wednesday might have been exposed to the airborne respiratory virus.
So might those who visited the Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center Pediatric Emergency Department between 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. EST on Friday.
Maryland health officials did not identify the individual or that person’s vaccination status but said the case is not related to the West Texas-New Mexico outbreak.
A Florida high-school student in the Miami-Dade County area also has tested positive for measles, state health officials announced on March 4.
“Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. It spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can cause severe disease, complications, and even death,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO).