Texas measles outbreak surpasses 600 cases with most among children, teens
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(AUSTIN, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas has now reached 624 cases, with 27 new infections confirmed over the last five days.
Nearly all of the cases are among unvaccinated individuals or among those whose vaccination status is unknown, according to new data published by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) on Tuesday.
Currently, 10 cases are among residents who have been vaccinated with one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, while 12 cases are among those vaccinated with two doses.
At least 64 measles patients have been hospitalized so far, according to the DSHS, with the majority of cases presenting in children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17, followed by children ages 4 and under.
Gaines County, which borders New Mexico, remains the epicenter of the outbreak, with 386 cases confirmed so far, DSHS data shows.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1, a descendent of the Omicron variant, are on the rise in some parts of the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Currently, there are not enough cases in the United States to register in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID variant tracker.
Symptoms appear to be similar to other variants of COVID-19 and the public health risk remains low, WHO information shows.
The earliest sample of the NB.1.8.1 variant was collected on Jan. 22 and it was designated a variant under monitoring — which may require prioritized attention and monitoring — on May 23 by the WHO.
Since the omicron variant was detected in 2021, new cases of COVID have been dominated by hundreds of its descendent subvariants, though none have led to the rise in cases once seen during the peak of the pandemic.
As of May 18, there were 518 NB.1.8.1 cases detected from 22 countries, according to WHO. While still only comprising 10.7% of the global cases at the end of April, this is a significant rise from 2.5% four weeks prior.
“Remember, we’ve seen summer surges. One thing that COVID has done is it’s been able to surge in the summer, and it’s been able to surge in the winter, and that’s very different than respiratory viruses we’ve dealt with in the past. But we still don’t know if this is going to be the virus that leads to a summer surge, it’s just too early to know,” Dr. Todd Ellerin, chief of infectious diseases at South Shore Health, told ABC News.
While there are increases in reported cases and hospitalizations in some of the countries with the highest proportion of NB.1.8.1 circulating, there are no reports to suggest that disease severity is higher in this latest variant than other circulating variants of the virus.
“With each new variant, what we’ve seen is severity doesn’t really change so far, we’re not seeing it have more severe complications,” said John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and ABC News contributor. “What we know is that when a virus is more transmissible, it will ultimately infect more people and when you infect more people … you’ll have more cases of severe illness, hospitalization, and unfortunately death. “
Data from China and elsewhere doesn’t seem to show anything unique about the variant other than increased transmissibility, Brownstein added.
Some of the variant’s mutations found on the surface proteins of the virus could increase its transmissibility and potentially make it somewhat harder to treat compared to current variants in wide circulation, according to the WHO.
Approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective against this variant, according to the WHO.
“This is the natural path we’ve seen with every variant, and so the guidance doesn’t really change at the end of the day,” Brownstein said. “It’s making sure people are up to date with their vaccines and boosters … and then of course, those that are immunocompromised or in high-risk groups may want to layer in other types of interventions like masking or being careful about large group settings where there could be increased risk of transmission.”
Niki Iranpour, MD, is an internal medicine resident at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
(NEW YORK) — Wyoming is reporting its first measles case in 15 years as the infectious disease continues to spread across the United States.
The state’s Department of Health said on Tuesday that it had confirmed a case in an unvaccinated child in Natrona County, which is located in the central part of the state and includes the town of Casper.
The pediatric case is the first reported in Wyoming since 2010, according to the WDH.
It’s unclear how the child became sick, and no other identifying details were provided including name, age or sex.
A release from the WDH said the child was infectious while in the emergency department waiting room at Banner Wyoming Medical Center in Casper on Thursday, June 24, from 11 a.m. MT to 1 p.m. MT and on Friday, June 25, from 12:55 p.m. MT to 2:55 p.m. MT.
The WDH said it is working with Banner Wyoming Medical Center to notify individuals who may have been exposed to measles during those times.
“We are asking individuals who were potentially exposed to self-monitor for measles symptoms for 21 days past the exposure date and consider avoiding crowded public places or high-risk settings such as daycare centers,” Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer with the WDH, said in the release.
Wyoming is the 37th state to confirm a case of measles this year as infections near a 30-year high in the U.S.
As of Wednesday morning, a total of 1,227 cases have been confirmed, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The U.S. is currently on track to surpass the 1,274 cases seen in 2019 and is expected to see the highest number of cases since 1992.
There have been three confirmed deaths so far this year, two among unvaccinated children in Texas and one among an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico.
Among the nationally confirmed cases, the CDC says 95% are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
Meanwhile, 2% of cases are among those who have received one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and 3% of cases are among those who received the recommended two doses, according to the CDC.
“Measles is one of the most contagious diseases we know, but it is preventable,” Harrist said in the release. “The MMR vaccine is safe and highly effective, providing long-lasting protection. Two doses of MMR vaccine are about 97% effective in preventing measles, and we recommend that all Wyoming residents ensure they and their children are up to date on MMR vaccinations.”
As of 2023, the latest year for which data is available, at least 93% of kindergartners in Wyoming had received at least one MMR dose, including 96% of kindergartners in Natrona County, where the new case was confirmed, according to the WDH.
(WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to testify before two congressional committees on Wednesday to discuss, among many topics, the Trump administration’s proposed budget and its impact on HHS.
Kennedy will appear before the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday morning and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the afternoon.
Last month, the HELP Committee called Kennedy to testify on the restructuring of the department.
In April, HHS began laying off about 10,000 workers and consolidating 28 institutes and centers into 15 new divisions.
Including the roughly 10,000 people who have left over the last few months through early retirement or deferred resignation programs, the overall staff at HHS is expected to fall from 82,000 to around 62,000 — or about a quarter of its workforce.
In a video statement posted on X prior to the layoffs, Kennedy said that he plans to bring to the agency a “clear sense of mission to radically improve the health of Americans and to improve agency morale.”
Kennedy has defended the cuts as necessary to weed out wasteful spending at one of America’s largest departments, but he has drawn criticism for laying off people who are responsible for regulating tobacco usage, monitoring lead exposure in children and diagnosing black lung disease in miners.
The secretary himself has appeared not to know about some of the cuts, telling CBS News last month he was “not familiar” with several cuts cited by the outlet.
Wednesday will mark the first time Kennedy has testified before Congress since his confirmation hearings in late January, and he may be forced to confront statements he made that critics say are evidence of promises broken.
Kennedy said several times during his hearing in January that he supports vaccines, although he refused to unequivocally say that vaccines don’t cause autism, despite numerous existing studies already showing there is no link.
“I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines,” Kennedy said.
However, in March, the HHS confirmed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will study whether vaccines cause autism.
Additionally, in the wake of several ongoing measles outbreaks across the U.S. and over 1,000 cases so far this year, Kennedy has shared contradicting views about vaccines.
In a post on X on April 6, Kennedy said that the “most effective way to prevent the spread of measles” is to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, in a post later that evening, he said more than 300 children have been treated with an antibiotic and a steroid, neither of which are recognized treatments or cures for measles.
Kennedy’s embrace of anti-vaccine ideas nearly put his confirmation in jeopardy, as he faced resistance from Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician who heads the HELP committee. Cassidy expressed concerns about Kennedy’s views on vaccines before ultimately voting to move him through the confirmation process in February.
Cassidy said, at the time, that Kennedy assured him he would not alter vaccine policy without “ironclad” scientific evidence. The senator added that Kennedy and Trump officials promised him an “unprecedentedly close collaborate working relationship” with the secretary.
Currently, Cassidy does not believe Kennedy has violated the commitments he made to him, a person familiar with the senator’s thinking told ABC News.
The men speak multiple times per week and have maintained a productive relationship, three people with knowledge of their dynamic said.
An HHS spokesperson said Kennedy “maintains a professional and respectful relationship with Senator Cassidy, grounded in a shared commitment to public health and evidence-based policymaking.”
Cassidy plans to tell Kennedy on Wednesday that the secretary can “set the record straight” about how HHS will “maintain its critical duties and implement change important to Americans’ health,” according to an excerpt of Cassidy’s remarks, which were obtained by ABC News.
ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett and Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
