AUSTIN, Texas — Health officials say they have confirmed a case of measles in Austin.
During a press briefing Friday, Austin Public Health confirmed that an unvaccinated toddler was exposed to measles while traveling overseas. Everyone else in the child’s family is vaccinated.
Officials said contact tracing is complete and they don’t expect any additional exposures. The child and their family members are all isolating at home.
This case appears to be unrelated to an ongoing measles outbreak in the South Plains region of Texas, where 146 cases have been reported as of Friday, Feb. 28. Twenty of the patients have been hospitalized and one unvaccinated child has died, marking the first measles death in the U.S. in a decade.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), of the 146 cases, 98 have been reported in Gaines County and 21 have been reported in nearby Terry County. Most of the cases have been among children.
The MMR – measles-mumps-rubella – vaccine is highly effective in protecting against measles. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one dose of the MMR vaccine is 93% effective against measles and two doses are 97% effective against the disease.
DSHS reports that 79 of the 146 patients were unvaccinated, 62 have unknown vaccination status and five have received at least one dose of the MMR vaccine.