Texas measles outbreak grows to 327 cases with 18 confirmed infections over last 5 days: Officials
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(AUSTIN, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with 18 cases confirmed over the last five days, bringing the total to 327 cases, according to new data published Tuesday.
Nearly all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). At least 40 people have been hospitalized so far.
Just two cases have occurred in people fully vaccinated with the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to the data.
In the Texas outbreak, children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases at 140, followed by children ages 4 and under accounting for 105 cases, according to the data.
“Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities. DSHS is working with local health departments to investigate the outbreak,” the department said in a press release.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LUBBOCK, Texas) — An unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died of measles, the first associated with an outbreak in the western part of the state that has infected more than 100 people.
Lubbock city spokesperson Lauren Adams confirmed the death to ABC News on Wednesday.
In a press release, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said the child was hospitalized in the northwestern city of Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles.
As of Wednesday, 124 cases of measles have been confirmed associated with the outbreak, according to data from DSHS.
Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, and 18 people have been hospitalized so far, DSHS said.
Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases with 62, followed by 39 cases among children ages 4 and under.
The outbreak began in Gaines County, which has become the epicenter, with 80 cases confirmed among residents, according to DSHS.
The outbreak has since spread to several counties in the region and is “suspected” to have spread into New Mexico, according to New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH). Nine cases have been confirmed in Lea County, which borders Texas. Of the nine cases, four are among children, according to NMDOH.
“This death underscores the real danger of measles — it’s a severe disease that can take lives despite being preventable with vaccination,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and ABC News contributor. “Every new case is a reminder of why vaccination is critical. Tragically, with an outbreak of this scale, a fatal case was not unexpected, especially among those unvaccinated. Given how contagious measles is, we anticipate more cases in the coming weeks.”
During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Health and & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded to a question about the outbreak, saying the agency was following the cases in Texas.
Kennedy appeared to downplay the outbreak, noting there have been four outbreaks so far this year compared to 16 last year. However, the number of cases in Texas alone amount to nearly half of the 285 cases confirmed in 2024.
“It’s not unusual; we have measles outbreaks every year,” he said.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles up to nine out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Health officials have been urging anyone who isn’t vaccinated to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.
The CDC currently recommends people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster.
Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, due to the highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. However, vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years.
About 93% of kindergarteners nationwide received select routine childhood vaccines, including the MMR vaccine, for the 2022-23 school year, according to a November 2023 CDC report.
This is about the same as the previous school year, but lower than the 94% seen in the 2020-22021 school year and the 95% seen in the 2019-2020 school year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter percentage had been the standard for about 10 years.
ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.
Herd of cows eating hay in a dairy farm. (STOCK PHOTO/Adobe Stock)
(NEW YORK) — A second type of bird flu has been found in dairy cows for the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday.
Until recently, all dairy herd detections in the U.S. had involved a form of bird flu, or avian influenza, known as B3.13.
This strain of bird flu, known as D1.1, has only ever previously been detected in wild birds and poultry, indicating that it has only recently spread to cows.
The detection, found in dairy cattle in Nevada, was a result of the USDA’s national milk testing program that launched in early December, according to the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
“USDA APHIS continues to work with the Nevada Department of Agriculture by conducting additional on-farm investigation, testing, and gathering additional epidemiological information to better understand this detection and limit further disease spread,” the agency said in a statement on its website.
There have been a total of 957 confirmed cattle infections in 16 states, with 36 new infections in the last 30 days in California and Nevada, the latest USDA data showed.
D1.1 has also been shown to be potentially dangerous to humans. Of the 67 human cases of bird flu detected in the U.S. beginning in April 2024, one of the only patients infected with D1.1 was in Louisiana.
The Louisiana patient died earlier this year, although health officials said the patient was over age 65 and had underlying health conditions.
Additionally, a 13-year-old girl in British Columbia, Canada, was admitted to the intensive care unit with the same strain in November.
The Louisiana patient was exposed to a backyard flock, and the Canadian teenager had an unknown exposure.
The CDC said in a statement on Thursday that it is continuing to “monitor this situation closely” for any signs that risk to human health has changed.
“Risk remains low despite what appears to be the introduction of a different genotype of avian influenza A (H5N1) virus into dairy cows based on the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Stakeholder Registry email,” the statement said. “CDC continues to monitor this situation closely for signs that would indicate the risk to human health has changed.”
The CDC noted that the risk to the general public remains low, and that there is no evidence of human-to-human spread.
The USDA issued a federal order late last year, asserting that raw milk samples nationwide be collected and shared with the agency in order to test for bird flu.
The order marked the start of the agency’s National Milk Testing Strategy, a program intended to boost surveillance of the nation’s milk supply and dairy herds and increase understanding of how bird flu is spreading.The USDA said the D1.1 detection in dairy cows “does not change USDA’s [bird flu] eradication strategy and is a testament to the strength of our National Milk Testing Strategy.”
APHIS said it plans to publish a technical brief on the findings on its website and post the sequence data on an open-access databank in the coming week.
ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.
(LUBBOCK, Texas) — An unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died of measles, the first associated with an outbreak in the western part of the state that has infected more than 100 people.
Lubbock city spokesperson Lauren Adams confirmed the death to ABC News on Wednesday.
In a press release, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said the child was hospitalized in Lubbock, located in northwestern Texas, last week and tested positive for measles.
As of Wednesday, 124 cases of measles have been confirmed, according to data from DSHS.
Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, and 18 people have been hospitalized so far, DSHS said.
Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases with 62, followed by 39 cases among children ages 4 and under.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
