Public health authorities said Tuesday that an outbreak of measles in western Texas has expanded, while a new case was confirmed nearby across state lines in New Mexico.
The Texas Department of State Health Services has identified 24 measles cases in connection with the onset of symptoms within the last two weeks. Gaines County, a small county in West Texas, has one of the highest rates of vaccine exemptions in the state.
In neighboring Lea County, New Mexico, residents were alerted Tuesday to the measles infection of an unvaccinated teenager, as well as the possible exposure of more people in Lovington at a hospital emergency room and sixth grade school gymnasium.
“The New Mexico youth had no recent travel or exposure to known cases from the Texas outbreak,” the New Mexico Department of Health said in a news release.
Nine of the measles patients in Texas have been hospitalized. All of the confirmed cases in Gaines County involve unvaccinated residents.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, the U.S. saw some 3 million to 4 million cases per year. Now, it’s usually fewer than 200 in a normal year.
Local health officials in Gaines County set up a drive-through vaccination clinic last week and are offering screening services to residents. The New Mexico Department of Health announced a no-appointment vaccination clinics in Hobbs, starting next week.
The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60.
Texas law allows children to get an exemption from school vaccines for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs. The percentage of kids with exemptions has risen over the last decade from 0.76% in 2014 to 2.32% last year, according to Texas Department of State Health Services data.
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