Measles outbreak expands in West Texas around county with low vaccination rate

A record share of US kindergartners had an exemption for required vaccinations last school year, leaving more than 125,000 new schoolchildren without coverage for at least one state-mandated vaccine, according to CDC data.

(CNN) — A measles outbreak is growing in a rural area of West Texas where vaccination rates are well below the recommended level.

In late January, two children in Gaines County were hospitalized for measles. On Wednesday, the state health department shared in a health alert that the number of confirmed cases had grown to six.

As of Friday afternoon, the outbreak has jumped to 14 confirmed cases and six probable cases among people who are symptomatic and had close contact with infected individuals, Zach Holbrooks, executive director of the South Plains Public Health District, told CNN.

Investigations are ongoing, as cases have been identified in parts of the region that are outside the Gaines County lines where the first cases were reported.

All the cases are believed to be among people who are not vaccinated against measles, Holbrooks said, and most of them are in children.

A record share of US kindergartners had an exemption for required vaccinations last school year, leaving more than 125,000 new schoolchildren without coverage for at least one state-mandated vaccine, according to data published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in October.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has set a goal that at least 95% of children in kindergarten will have gotten two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, a threshold necessary to help prevent outbreaks of the highly contagious disease. The US has now fallen short of that threshold for four years in a row.

MMR coverage is particularly low in Gaines County, where nearly 1 in 5 incoming kindergartners in the 2023-24 school year did not get the vaccine. The 18% vaccine exemption rate for the county is one of the highest in the state, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

At the state level, vaccine exemptions were highest in Idaho, where more than 14% of incoming kindergartners did not have their required shots, according to CDC data from last school year. Texas overall was slightly above the national average, with about 4% exemptions.

Measles is an airborne disease that can cause serious health consequences, including death, especially for young and unvaccinated children.

General symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash of red spots. About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the US who get measles will be hospitalized, according to the CDC. About 1 in every 20 children will develop pneumonia, and others may develop a dangerous swelling in the brain called encephalitis. Up to 3 of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles may die from respiratory and neurologic complications.

In the health alert Wednesday, the Texas health department warned that additional cases are “likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities” due to the highly contagious nature of the disease.

Officials recommend that residents of Gaines County immediately improve their immunity and help prevent disease spread by ensuring that they are up to date on vaccinations. Children and adults who have not been vaccinated should get one dose immediately, followed by a second dose after 28 days. Infants between 6 and 11 months should get an early dose of the vaccine, and children who have had their first shot should get their second as soon as possible.

The South Plains Public Health District started a measles clinic Thursday, Holbrooks said, where daily testing and vaccination will be available starting next week.

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