In a rapidly growing measles outbreak in northwest Texas, 90 cases have been confirmed as of Friday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The outbreak, which began in late January, has ballooned this week, with 32 new cases reported since Tuesday. Sixteen patients have been hospitalized.
The virus is spreading primarily among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccine status is unknown, the health department said. Only five cases have been among vaccinated people.
“We have a high, high number of unvaccinated,” Tonya Guffey, the chief nursing officer at Seminole District Hospital in Gaines County, told NBC News last week. “It’s not that they’re not educated. It’s just what their belief is.”
The bulk of cases have been recorded in Gaines and Terry Counties, which are along Texas' northwest border and about five hours from Albuquerque, New Mexico. As of the 2023-24 school year, Gaines County had one of Texas' highest vaccine exemption rates: nearly 18%.
Most of the illnesses have been in children and teens — 26 measles cases have been recorded among kids under 4, with 51 cases among those ages 5 to 17.
Measles is highly contagious — the virus spreads through the air and can linger for up to two hours after an infected person leaves a space, according to the CDC. Up to 90% of people without immunity from a vaccine or prior infection can contract the illness if they come into contact with an infected person.
Measles symptoms include a high fever, cough, pink eye, runny nose, white spots inside the mouth and a rash. Severe complications can lead to death — roughly 1 to 3 out of 1,000 children who contract measles die, according to the CDC.
Last year, the U.S. tallied 285 measles cases — the highest number since 2019, CDC data shows.
The outbreak's recent growth has come during Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s first week as health and human services secretary. Kennedy, who for years was a prominent anti-vaccine activist, has in the past falsely suggested that childhood vaccines could increase the risk of autism. The claim has been repeatedly debunked in scientific studies, but RFK Jr. refused to disavow it during his Senate confirmation hearings.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a physician, on Tuesday urged Texans to get the mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, saying in a post on X that it's “been proven safe & effective since 1963.”
The vaccine is recommended for all children; two doses are 97% effective against measles.
Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, provided a key vote in favor of Kennedy’s confirmation.
