A measles outbreak in the southwestern United States has infected nearly 100 people in recent weeks.
The deadly illness has sickened dozens of people in west Texas and New Mexico since late January. The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed 90 cases of measles, including at least 77 children. Sixteen people have been hospitalized as a result.
Measles was considered eliminated in the U.S. two decades ago due to successful vaccine initiatives, but the region lags significantly below federal targets for measles vaccinations. The outbreak comes after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has heavily scrutinized several vaccines, was confirmed by the Senate to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
The majority of these cases have been concentrated in Gaines County, Texas, a farming area in the northwestern portion of the state. Nine cases were discovered just across the border in New Mexico. Just five of Texas’s 90 cases were in people confirmed to have been vaccinated against measles. The rest had an unknown vaccine status or were unvaccinated.
Texas children are required to receive the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine to attend public schools, but exemptions can be granted for “reasons of conscience.” In Gaines County, the MMR vaccination rate last year for kindergarten students was 82%, which is about 10% lower than the state average for Texas public schools.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans, and cases have been rising globally. There were 285 total cases in more than 30 states last year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control.
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The disease is most dangerous to children under 5. It can cause a fever, cough, runny nose, and white spots on the skin called koplik spots. There is no specific cure or treatment for measles, according to the Mayo Clinic. In every 1,000 children who contract measles, one to two are projected to die.
Around 1 in 5 people who are unvaccinated and become infected with measles ends up in the hospital. Vaccination rates against measles have been declining since the COVID-19 pandemic. A little under 93% of people in the U.S. are vaccinated against measles. Vaccines must be administered to a wide swath of the population for them to be effective.