TEXAS, USA — Texas health officials report that measles cases continue to rise in an update released Friday morning.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that 259 measles cases in 11 counties have been identified since late January. Thirty-four patients have been hospitalized.
The state health department breaks down the cases by age. The age group with the most cases is ages 5 through 17 years old with 115 cases. The next highest group is children ages 0 to 4 years old with 86 cases. There have been 46 cases in people ages 18 or older.
The overwhelming majority of cases are in unvaccinated individuals. According to DSHS, 257 of the cases are in people who are either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. Only two of the cases are in vaccinated people.
There has been one measles-related death reported in Texas. The patient was a school-aged child who lived in the outbreak area in the South Plains. The child was not vaccinated and had no known underlying conditions.
However, New Mexico health officials reported that an adult who was infected with measles has died, though the virus has not been confirmed as the cause.
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The person who died was unvaccinated and did not seek medical care, a state health department spokesperson said in a statement earlier this month. The person’s exact age and other details were not immediately released.
The patient was from Lea County, just across the state line from the West Texas region where measles cases have been identified. New Mexico health officials have not linked the outbreak in the state to the Texas cases.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it was sending a team to Texas to help local public health officials respond to the outbreak, which began in late January.
Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to nine out of 10 people who are unvaccinated will get the virus if exposed, according to the CDC.
The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and highly effective at preventing infection and severe cases. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 to 15 months, and the second dose for ages 4 to 6 years.
“We don’t want to see New Mexicans getting sick or dying from measles,” said Dr. Chad Smelser, the New Mexico deputy state epidemiologist. “The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is the best protection against this serious disease.”