- The first measles death in the United States since 2015 has been reported in western Texas.
- At least 124 people have contracted measles in that part of the state since the outbreak was first reported in January.
- Experts say measles is one of the most contagious illnesses in the world.
- Children and adults who don’t have full immunity should be vaccinated against the disease.
- Some people living near outbreak areas may wish to consider a booster, experts say.
The first death has been reported in the growing measles outbreak in western Texas.
Health officials said a child with the disease who was hospitalized died overnight. It’s the first known measles death in the United States since 2015.
The death stems from a measles outbreak in the South Plains region of Texas that began in a Mennonite community in January. At least 124 cases of measles have now been confirmed in this area.
Of those cases, 101 have occurred in children under the age of 18. Only five of those cases have occurred in people who are known to have been vaccinated.
So far, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has not commented on the measles outbreak in Texas. Some experts are concerned about his anti-vaccination stances in the past.
Since taking office, Kennedy has said he will investigate the childhood vaccination schedule, which includes the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. He also has put federal vaccine advisory meetings on hold as well as cancelled a federal campaign to promote the flu vaccine.
This comes as childhood vaccination rates across the country have been decreasing in recent years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the MMR vaccination rate for kindergartners has dipped to 93%. Health experts say the vaccination rate for any disease must be at least 95% to prevent outbreaks.
In Gaines County, the epicenter of the Texas outbreak, fewer than 82% of kindergartners are vaccinated against measles.
This has led to concerns about this outbreak of measles spreading among unvaccinated people, and as people who have the disease but haven’t developed symptoms travel to other areas.
It has also prompted health officials to renew their efforts to convince parents to vaccinate their children. Adults who aren’t vaccinated or who may have been under-vaccinated as children are being told to consider getting immunized.
Measles outbreak unlikely to spread outside of Texas
The current measles outbreak probably won’t spread to other parts of the U.S., but it still is raising a number of concerns, experts say.
“Measles now is spreading among unvaccinated children, adolescents, and some adults in an under-vaccinated community,” said William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist and a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
“Measles is the most contagious virus we know. Some infected, but not yet sick, persons may travel to other similarly unvaccinated communities in the U.S. and spread measles to those communities,” Schaffner told Healthline.
Most cases seen in Texas and surrounding regions are among the unvaccinated, and the region has a childhood vaccination rate lower than 90%, added Monica Gandhi, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco.
“I am concerned that given how contagious measles is, the outbreak can easily spread if someone travels on a plane, for instance, while in the prodromal (pre-rash) stage,” Gandhi told Healthline. “The lower rates of vaccination among children in many states in the U.S. are very concerning given that measles is a serious childhood illness.”
David Cutler, MD, a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California, said measles will likely continue to spread as long as vaccination rates remain under optimal targets.
“We will certainly get more and more measles cases every year,” he told Healthline.
Dean Winslow, MD, a professor of medicine and pediatrics at Stanford University in California, has a more personal view of the disease.
“I remember being very sick with measles pneumonia back when I was about 4 years old in 1957,” he said.
“I also remember visiting one of the cemeteries in rural Northern Indiana back when I was a little boy. One of the graves there belonged to a great/great uncle who served as a 20-year-old soldier with the Union Army during the American Civil War [who] survived brutal fighting at Gettysburg but died of measles in camp a few weeks later,” Winslow told Healthline.
What to know about measles
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world.
Up to 90% of people exposed to the virus will contract the disease. A person with measles can easily spread the virus to more than 10 people.
The virus is transmitted through the air or by direct contact with a surface that has droplets that contain the virus. The virus can remain alive in the air or on surfaces for up to 2 hours.
Symptoms will usually appear within 14 days. Those symptoms include:
- widespread skin rash
- high fever
- cough
- sore throat
- eye irritation
The incubation period for measles is usually 11 to 12 days. The disease can be spread from person to person as early as 4 days before symptoms appear.
“Measles is caused by the rubeola virus and is extremely contagious. Viral particles are airborne and can stay suspended in the air and be contagious for up to two hours,” Gandhi said. “
The attack rate is one of the highest of all the viral diseases, which makes outbreaks among groups of unvaccinated individuals very common.”
About 30% of measles cases lead to some form of complication, the most common being ear infections and diarrhea. Serious complications are rare, but they include:
Treatments for measles include administering a vaccine within 72 hours of exposure and dose of immune proteins called immunoglobulin within 6 days of exposure.
There are also over-the-counter medications you can take to help ease symptoms. Drinking a lot of fluids and getting plenty of rest are also recommended.
How dangerous is measles?
In the U.S., 285 measles cases were reported in 2024, the most in five years. About 40% of those cases required hospitalization.
Globally, more than 10 million measles cases were reported in 2023. More than 107,000 deaths from measles were recorded worldwide that year. Most of the deaths were unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under the age of 5.
Before the measles vaccine was widely available, the disease caused more than 3 million illnesses per year in the United States, with 48,000 hospitalizations and 500 deaths annually.
“Measles is a very serious disease,” said Schaffner. “There is the widespread misconception that measles is a benign illness that gives kids a rash, everyone used to get it, and all recovered uneventfully. That is incorrect.”
“Even uncomplicated measles makes children miserable for over a week with fever, sometimes as high as 102 or 103 degrees; a brassy unrelenting cough; conjunctivitis that makes children so sensitive to light that they are kept in a dark room and a runny, stuffy nose,” he added.
Who should get a measles vaccine
Measles was declared eradicated in the United States in 2000. However, cases have slowly risen as vaccination rates have decreased.
The CDC recommends that all children receive two doses of the MMR vaccine with the first dose given between 12 months and 15 months of age and the second dose between 4 years and 6 years of age.
Adults who were born before 1957 are presumed to have contracted measles as children before vaccines were available and are considered to have “presumptive evidence of immunity.” Adults born after 1957 and vaccinated before 1968 may have received an MMR vaccine that wasn’t as effective as current models.
Experts say most adults who have presumed immunity or have received even one dose of the measles vaccine in their lifetime probably don’t need to get a booster shot.
There are some exceptions, including people who work in healthcare settings or travel internationally.
“Most adults in the U.S. have been vaccinated and have lifetime protection,” said Schaffner.
“Some adults may be uncertain whether they received the recommended two doses of measles vaccine or whether, in the early 1960s, they had received a less effective earlier measles vaccine. Particularly if those persons are in or near communities currently experiencing measles, they could speak with their providers about receiving a dose of measles vaccine.”
“Given that immunity can wane after the primary measles series, I would definitely recommend adults get boosted in the regions of outbreaks and that parents of primary school children who did not get the measles vaccine take them for a vaccination series now,” Gandhi added.
“As a general rule, all adults who have documentation of having received at least two doses of measles vaccine at least four weeks apart should be considered immune,” said Winslow. “However, those born after 1957 who do not have good documentation of measles vaccine receipt should consider being vaccinated.”
Schaffner and other experts say parents should be strongly urged to get their children vaccinated.
“The drop in measles vaccination rates in communities in the U.S. is very concerning. This opens the door for other outbreaks of measles to occur — it is turning back the clock to the bad old days,” said Schaffner.
However, Cutler noted that convincing parents isn’t as easy as it might seem. He said parents who don’t believe in vaccinating their children can dig in their heels even more if someone tries to persuade them by producing evidence of the effectiveness of vaccines.
“For the most part, they aren’t going to change their mind,” Cutler said. He added a more effective route may be to get these parents to have faith again in the medical community. “It’s a long, slow process to get them to regain trust,” Cutler said.
Takeaway
A death has been reported among the 124 cases of measles reported in a region of western Texas with a low vaccination rate.
Experts say the outbreak probably won’t spread nationwide, but they are concerned it will be transmitted to other under-vaccinated communities as people in the pre-symptom stages of the illness travel to other areas.
Experts say children should be vaccinated against measles, and adults who aren’t vaccinated or received a less effective dose when they were children should consider getting inoculated.
Child Dies of Measles in Texas, Low Vaccination Rates Driving the Outbreak
Source: Pinoy Lang Sakalam
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