West Texas measles outbreak doubles to 48 cases

Among the 48 cases, 13 have been hospitalized. Measles is a highly contagious airborne illness that can cause rash, fever, red eyes and cough.

(CNN) — The measles outbreak first reported in Gaines County, Texas, has doubled to 48 cases since a count released earlier this week, the Texas Department of State Health Services said Friday. The first two cases were identified in late January and the numbers have been rising since.

Forty-two cases are reported in Gaines County. Surrounding counties have also reported cases, three in Terry County, two in Yoakum County and one in Lynn County. With the contagious nature of the disease, the state health department says it expects more cases will be reported in Gaines County and the surrounding areas.

All cases are in unvaccinated people or those who have unknown vaccination status. Most cases are in children age 5 to 17 years old. All the cases experienced an onset of symptoms in the last three weeks.

Among the 48 cases, 13 have been hospitalized. Measles is a highly contagious airborne illness that can cause rash, fever, red eyes and cough. Severe cases can result in blindness, pneumonia or encephalitis, swelling of the brain. In some cases, the illness can be fatal.

Coverage of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine 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 health department.

The state health department is working with two local health departments — South Plains Public Health District and Lubbock Public Health — to investigate the outbreak.

At least 80 people in the past week have obtained the MMR vaccine at no cost at a vaccine clinic hosted by the South Plains Public Health District, which includes Gaines County, according to Zach Holbrooks, the health district’s executive director. The clinic is expanding to be open seven days a week.

There were 285 cases reported in the US last year, the most since 2019, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This year cases have already been identified in Texas, Alaska, New Mexico, Georgia, Rhode Island and New York City.

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 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.

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