Texas Reports 13 New Measles Cases as CDC Arrives in State

(Bloomberg) — Texas reported 13 new cases of measles Tuesday even as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending a team of epidemiologists and doctors to help the state with the growing outbreak. 

The state has now reported a total of 159 cases since the outbreak began Jan. 23. That includes the earlier reported death of one child, the first US measles fatality in a decade. Texas officials said 22 people have been hospitalized. 

The CDC’s team of seven is expected to arrive Tuesday afternoon to assist in investigating cases, tracking hospital exposures and giving health care providers guidance on prevention, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services said. Texas requested help from the federal government on Feb. 28. 

Katherine Wells, director of public health in Lubbock County, said she expects to get one CDC infectious disease physician as soon as Thursday to help track the outbreak and support public health communications, including answering calls from local businesses on exposure protocols. 

The CDC’s team of seven is just the start, Wells said. She expects the agency will send more people once it’s clear what’s needed.

Meanwhile, New Mexico’s Lea County, which is next to the Texas epicenter in Gaines County, reported that its measles cases remained at 9 on Tuesday.  

Measles is a highly contagious and deadly disease. Wells said the outbreak has yet to hit its peak with so many unknown cases.

“It’s just one car ride or one airplane ride of one of these people going into another unvaccinated community,” Wells said. “This is going to take a long time to get this to where the outbreak is over.”

Wells said the county is receiving two extra nurses to help administer vaccines and has requested additional staff to conduct contact tracing. There’s a good supply of leftover protective equipment from the Covid-19 pandemic, she said. The real help she needs is more people on the ground. 

Lubbock has reported only three measles cases so far, but is home to the Covenant Children’s Hospital that is handling the care of younger measles patients across the area. 

The Epidemic Intelligence Service officers provide support for at least one to three weeks on the site of the outbreak, the CDC said in a post on X. 

The way to stop the outbreak is through vaccinations, which limits how many people are susceptible to infection, Wells said. Texas has set up mobile health clinics to administer the MMR vaccine in the area — a shot that is 93% effective against the virus after one dose. More than 250 doses of the vaccine have been administered in mobile and public health clinics from the beginning of the outbreak in early February to the end of the month, the Texas Health spokesperson said. 

Gaines County, Texas, is home to a large Mennonite community that has applied for religious exemption from vaccines in schools. Nearly 20% of school-aged children in Gaines County had religious exemptions from vaccines last year, according to state data. 

The CDC has reported cases in nine states as of Feb. 28, including the New Mexico ones. The other cases in the US are related to exposure from international travel. In 2024, the US had 285 positive cases for the whole year, and almost half of the cases were hospitalized for complications. 

–With assistance from Brandon Harden.

(Updates with additional background from the seventh paragraph.)

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