U.S. Measles Outbreak Tops 200 Cases as Second Death Investigated

The measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico now stands at over 200 cases, according to the latest figures released by local health departments. The news comes just a day after an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico has reportedly died of suspected measles, the second death of this current outbreak.

Texas Department of State Health Services now reports 198 measles cases identified in West Texas since late January, with 23 patients who have been hospitalized from the disease. A “school-aged” child in Texas last month became the first measles death in the U.S. since 2015.

As per newly released data, New Mexico has identified 30 cases of the measles during this current outbreak, with no hospitalizations thus far. The person who died of suspected measles in New Mexico was not hospitalized before they passed away.

The CDC’s measles information page reports 222 cases total in the U.S. for this year, which doesn’t include the new cases in Texas and New Mexico reported Friday. But it does have cases identified in other jurisdictions, including Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington.

Strangely, when the first new measles death was reported last month, the newly confirmed head of the Department of Heath and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., made an offhand comment at the White House that two people had died. That claim has not been substantiated, and it’s not clear why Kennedy said two people had died of the measles during this current outbreak. But with the death in New Mexico reported yesterday, it’s looking likely that there is a second death, though health authorities are still working to confirm that.

Measles tends to be most lethal in young children, but anyone can get the disease and still suffer greatly. The age range for the cases identified in Texas thus far, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services:

• 0-4 years old: 64 cases
• 5-17 years old: 89 cases
• 18+ years old: 34 cases
• Pending: 11 cases

The age breakdown is skewing older in New Mexico, as you can see from the numbers provided by the state health officials below:

• 0-4 years old: 3 cases
• 5-17 years old: 8 cases
• 18+ years: 15 cases
• Pending: 4 cases

While it’s important to get vaccinated against the measles, vaccinated people can still get the disease if it’s running rampant in a given community. The measles vaccine is about 97% effective after two doses, meaning that some people who are vaccinated will still get it, especially in places where herd immunity hasn’t been maintained. Herd immunity for measles is generally considered to have been achieved at about 95% vaccination. Only 11 states in the U.S. have herd immunity for measles, according to a map on the CDC’s website.

Some Americans are now claiming that you can stop measles simply by eating enough vitamin A, something Secretary Kennedy himself has previously claimed. The best way to prevent measles is vaccination. If you got your MMR vaccine as a child but are worried about whether you may need a measles booster, talk with your doctor about ordering a titer test, which can tell you whether you still have immunity to the disease.

With Kennedy refusing to explicitly endorse vaccination as a way to fight measles (one of his top spokespeople recently resigned over it), it’s now up to the states to help push the message out.

“We don’t want to see New Mexicans getting sick or dying from measles,” Dr. Chad Smelser, New Mexico’s deputy state epidemiologist, said in a statement published online. “The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is the best protection against this serious disease.”