Texas Health Official Says Measles Outbreak Could Last a Year

According to a March 19 article from CNN, measles cases are increasing.

What you should know:

• 321 cases have been reported in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma as of March 18
• Texas has reported 279 out-break associated cases
• New Mexico has reported 38 cases
• Oklahoma has reported 4 cases

The article stated, “Thirty-eight patients have been hospitalized, an increase of two over last week. Ninety-five cases are in children up to age 4, and 130 are among young people ages 5 to 17. Cases have been identified in 11 Texas counties and two New Mexico counties.”

“In Texas, the bulk of the cases, 191, are in Gaines County, where the outbreak was first identified. In New Mexico, most cases are in Lea County, which borders Gaines County.

“The Oklahoma State Department of Health said last week that it had four measles cases in people with ‘exposure associated with the Texas and New Mexico outbreak.’”

The majority of cases are in people who were unvaccinated or who had unknown vaccination status, yet six were found in people who claim they have received at least one dose of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, two in Texas and four in New Mexico, according to CNN.

Katherine Wells, director of Lubbock Public Health, said at a briefing March 18, “This is going to be a large outbreak, and we are still on the side where we are increasing the number of cases. … I’m really thinking this is going to be a year long. I just think, it being so rural now, multistate, it’s just going to take a lot more boots on the ground, a lot more work to get things under control. It’s not an isolated population.”

Officials, according to CNN, say that increased testing capacity will be beneficial in containing the outbreak.