The outbreak of measles in some Texas and New Mexico has nearly 100 sick people, according to state health officials who warned that the number of cases is expected to increase.
The Texas Department of Health said Friday that the outbreak has been spreading in Texas' South Plains area since late January. Regional measles vaccination rates are well below federal targets.
On Friday, the department confirmed 90 measles cases, with at least 77 cases of children. The department said 16 people were hospitalized.
The incident comes amid a decline in vaccination rates and growing concerns about the confirmation of prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as National Health Secretary.
Citing the controversy over the vaccine's side effects, Kennedy vowed to scrutinize the childhood vaccine.
In Texas, the majority is concentrated in Gaines County, an agricultural area near the New Mexico border. Of the 90 cases, only patients were vaccinated against measles. The rest were either not vaccinated or the vaccination status was unknown, the department said.
The New Mexico Department of Health said it had identified nine measles cases in Lee County as of Thursday, sharing the border with Texas outbreak region. The four infected were children, the department said.
The Texas Department of Health said it is working with the local health department to investigate the outbreak. The local health department is expanding vaccination clinics and testing hubs to help contain cases.
Free walk-in vaccinations were offered in Seminoles in Gaines County and Lee County, New Mexico
Allowing an exemption for “reasons of conscience” requires receiving a vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella to attend Texas public schools. But Gaines County had one of the state's highest exemption rates last year, but state data shows that over 13% of K-12 students have been exempt from receiving the vaccine.
The county's vaccination rate for kindergarten students who received the MMR vaccine last year was 82%, about 10 points lower than the state average for Texas public schools. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that if more than 95% of the community is vaccinated, most people are protected through immunity.
One of the most infectious diseases known to humans, the outbreak of measles appears in every part of the world. This applies to the United States, where the disease was once declared.
According to the CDC, in 2024 there were a total of 285 cases in the US in over 30 states.
This disease can make people seriously ill or fatal. About one in five people infected with measles are hospitalized, the CDC said.
The national vaccination rate for measles has already declined since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, down below 93% last year.
