Still nothing to freak out about! Right!?
At least 10 cases of measles — eight of which are among school-aged children — have been reported in Gaines County in West Texas over the past two weeks, driving worries of an escalating outbreak.
Of the cases so far, seven have been hospitalized, according to a Texas Health and Human Services alert. All were unvaccinated and residents of Gaines County, which has a population of about 22,000 and borders New Mexico.
“Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities,” the alert said.
The new cases come more than a week after Texas health officials reported two Measles cases out of Gaines County, both involving unvaccinated school-aged children. Both children were hospitalized in Lubbock and later discharged. Earlier this week, state health officials said the number of cases had grown to six. Since then, cases have increased further.
West Texas is not alone in new cases of measles. In January, new measles cases were also reported in Harris County, prompting a health alert from the state and marking the first time Texans were confirmed to have the disease since 2023. The two Harris County cases involved unvaccinated adult residents.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease. Symptoms could include a high fever, cough, runny nose and rash that starts on the face but then extends to the rest of the body. The health consequences of getting measles can be serious and sometimes result in death.
Last year, 40% of all the 245 nationwide who contracted measles were hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than half of those hospitalized with measles last year were under the age of five.
The disease’s prevalence has accelerated in recent years. According to the CDC, by March 2024 there were more reported measles cases that year than in all of 2023. The rise comes more than two decades after measles was considered eliminated by health agencies in 2000, meaning that there had been no continuous spreading of the disease for 12 months.
See here and here for the background. I had thought those two original cases were from Lubbock, but that’s just where the victims were hospitalized. By the way, here’s where Gaines County is, and here’s where Lubbock County is, so we’re probably talking about a two hour drive, give or take depending on where in Gaines you came from, to get to the hospital in Lubbock. As I said before, I hope everyone recovers quickly and I hope the spread is contained. But the more unvaccinated people (children, mostly) out there, the more that are likely to get sick.
