A measles outbreak in Texas has exploded, with health authorities now reporting nearly 60 cases, including some who are vaccinated, across the Lone Star State.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said 58 cases have been identified with symptoms during the last three weeks, marking the worst outbreak in over 30 years.
“Thirteen of the patients have been hospitalized. Four of the cases are vaccinated. The rest are unvaccinated, or their vaccination status is unknown,” the department said in a Tuesday update.
A majority of the infections are in patients between the ages of five and 17 years old. Just under half that number are even younger.
The department said that, due to the highly contagious nature of the disease, even more cases are likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding West Texas communities. The outbreak is anticipated to be larger than the number of confirmed cases.
Of the 58 cases, 45 are in Gaines County. The county, which has a population of about 22,000, has one of the state’s highest vaccine exemption rates.
Some of the cases reported appear to be linked to private religious schools in the South Plains Public Health District, according to Director Zach Holbrooks. Holbrooks previously told The Associated Press that the investigation is ongoing.
Texas law allows children to get an exemption from school vaccines for reasons of conscience. That includes religious beliefs. Nearly 14 percent of children from kindergarten through 12th grade in the county had an exemption during the previous school year.
Measles vaccination clinics have been set up for residents, that have been “well attended,” Lara Anton, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services, told The New York Times.
Local health authorities in Abilene, just a couple of hours away from Gaines, have cautioned that measles could spread to Taylor County, as well.
Eight people in New Mexico have already been diagnosed with measles. Officials there have said they suspect some of their cases are linked to the Texas outbreak.
Measles can survive in the air for up to two hours, and up to 9 out of 10 susceptible people will get the virus if they have been exposed.
Residents who catch measles may experience a high fever, a cough, a runny nose, and a rash that starts on the face but then extends to the rest of the body. Infections can lead to blindness, brain swelling, and even death.
The department maintains that the best way to prevent becoming sick is two doses of a vaccine against measles.
“Two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles,” it said Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
