A measles outbreak in West Texas has reported 146 confirmed cases, with the majority of patients being children aged 5-17 years old and infants under 1 year old at higher risk. According to Dr. Jennifer Shuford, commissioner for the Texas Department of State Health Services, around 10% of cases have been in infants, who can experience serious outcomes from measles.
The outbreak began in Gaines County and has since spread to eight other counties, including Terry County. While most cases are among unvaccinated or unknown vaccination status individuals, five cases were found in vaccinated individuals.
The Texas Department of Health Services announced the first death in the outbreak – a school-aged child who was not vaccinated and had been hospitalized in Lubbock. Officials expect continued spread due to the contagious nature of measles and urge increased vaccinations.
The state has issued alerts for possible exposures in Central and South Central Texas, and Houston authorities are analyzing school vaccination data to identify potential vulnerabilities. Nationally, there have been 164 US measles cases across nine states since 2025, with most related to the West Texas outbreak.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/28/health/measles-texas-146-cases/index.html