Measles cases in western Texas rise to 146, possibly spreading to other areas
The earliest measles symptoms are a cough, a runny nose and conjunctivitis, or red, watery eyes, followed by sore spots in the mouth and a high fever of 103-104 degrees. Then, a rash typically begins on the scalp or face and goes down the body. Photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The number of confirmed measles cases in western Texas grew to 146, and it is possibly spreading to the central part of the state and neighboring New Mexico, health officials said Friday.
The Texas Department of Health confirmed the latest tally since the outbreak, centered in Gaines County, began in late January with 20 people hospitalized and one child dead, the first fatality in the United States since 2015. Only five were confirmed to be vaccinated. The child was among 79 not vaccinated with 62 unknown status.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that there have been 164 cases reported this year, with 20% hospitalized, in Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Rhode Island and Texas. In 2024, there were 285 measles cases reported by 33 jurisdictions:
“It’s not a huge wildfire,” Dr. Ronald Cook, chief health officer at both the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock and the Lubbocks Health Authority, said at a briefing Friday. “It’s going to be a smoldering fire, a tumbleweed fire, for a while until we finally get it stopped and put out.”
The situation is being monitored elsewhere since an infected person traveled to San Marcos and San Antonio over Valentine’s Day weekend.
That person went to the University of Texas at San Antonio campus and businesses in the area.
“It’s very possible that this person could have come in contact with, if not hundreds, thousands of our community residents, as well as visitors,” Anita Kurian, San Antonio Metropolitan Health District Deputy Director of Communicable Disease, said at a media briefing Friday. “We are a destination city. We have real great concern of potential large community wide exposures at these public sites.”
In Lubbock, about 87 miles northwest of Gaines County, Katherine Wells, director of public health, said most of the community is vaccinated, although because measles is so contagious, they are reaching out to families and closely monitoring schools for more infections.
“I do expect to see additional cases,” she said. “I’m very nervous about getting a measles case in a school or a day care. We are closely monitoring that.”
The incubation period is seven to 14 days, Cook said in Lubbock.
The earliest symptoms are a cough, a runny nose and conjunctivitis, or red, watery eyes, followed by sore spots in the mouth and a high fever of 103-104 degrees. Then, the rash typically begins on the scalp or face and goes down the body, he said.
Those hospitalized, mainly children, are extremely dehydrated or are having serious trouble breathing, Cook said during the briefing Friday.
The vaccine exemption rate in Gaines County was nearly 18% for the 2023-24 school year, according to the health department. Nationwide, the figure is 95% for children, according to CDC data.
Ninety-eight of the cases were in Gaines County.
Two doses of the shot are 97% effective in preventing the disease.
New Mexico officials are working to determine whether nine cases are linked to the outbreak in Texas.
The CDC, which is part of Health and Human Services, issued a statement Thursday.
“HHS is providing technical assistance, laboratory support, vaccines and therapeutic medication as needed to the Texas Department of State Health Services and New Mexico Department of Health, which are leading the responses to the outbreaks in their jurisdictions,” the CDC said.