Vaccine exemptions linked to record measles cases in Texas
Texas is experiencing its worst measles outbreak in nearly 30 years, with 48 confirmed cases, health officials report.
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Measles cases continue to grow in an outbreak in west Texas, with state health officials saying Tuesday the number of confirmed infections is now up to 58.
The majority of cases (33) have been reported in children aged 5-17, followed by 15 reported cases in children aged 0-4. Most infections are centralized in Gaines County (45), followed by nine in Terry County and one to two in Lubbock, Lynn and Yoakum. Thirteen patients have been hospitalized.
Most of those infected are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status, though four of the cases have occurred in people who say they were vaccianted.
“Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities,” the state agency said. “The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a vaccine against measles.”
Amid the spreading surge in Texas and nearby states, here’s what to know about measles, including how it is spread and how the public can stay protected.
What is measles and how do you get it?
Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease caused by a virus that primarily, and most severely, affects children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it infects the respiratory tract before spreading throughout the body.
The virus is highly contagious; so contagious, in fact, that 90% of unvaccinated people who are exposed end up contracting it. Additionally, one in five of those people end up hospitalized, according to the CDC.
Measles is spread through contact with infected nasal or throat secretions, according to WHO. It is airborne and most commonly spread through actions like coughing, sneezing or breathing. The measles virus can remain contagious in the air or on contaminated surfaces for up to two hours.
What are the symptoms of measles?
According to the CDC, measles symptoms appear seven to 14 days after contact with the virus and typically include high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes. Measles rash appears three to five days after the onset of the first symptoms.
Other signs and symptoms of measles include:
- When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit
- High fever
- Cough
- Runny nose and sneezing
- Red, watery eyes
- Loss of appetite, diarrhea
- Reddish-brown rash that can spread across the entire body
- Koplik spots, tiny white spots that may appear inside the mouth two to three days after symptoms begin
- Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots (the spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the rest of the body)
Who is most at risk for contracting measles?
Measles can be serious and even deadly in all people, but some groups are more susceptible to its effects, according to the CDC. These include:
- Children younger than 5 years of age
- Adults older than 20 years of age
- Pregnant people
- People with weakened immune systems, such as from leukemia or HIV infection
- Unvaccinated people
Can measles kill you? What are the long-term effects?
A measles infection can quickly and easily become deadly, especially in children. Historically, measles infected the vast majority of American children before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, according to the CDC.
Between 1942 (when the CDC began tracking the virus) and 1962, half a million new cases were reported yearly, a number the CDC believes was actually closer to 4 million due to underreporting. Each year during that time span, around 400 to 500 people died, 48,000 were hospitalized and 4,000 suffered encephalitis (swelling of the brain) caused by measles, said the CDC.
In modern times, serious complications and long-term effects still occur. As many as one out of every 20 children with measles gets pneumonia, the leading cause of death in children with the virus, and one child out of every 1,000 who gets measles will develop encephalitis, which can cause seizures, deafness and developmental disability, says CDC data.
About one to three of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles will die from respiratory and neurologic complications, the CDC says.
Another long-term complication, Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), is rare but can occur. SSPE is a fatal disease of the nervous system caused by a measles infection early in life. It is a progressive form of brain swelling that results in the gradual loss of bodily functions, eventually resulting in a vegetative state and/or death, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders. There is currently no cure.
SSPE is the result only of a persistent measles infection. It occurs seven to ten years after infection, even when a person has seemingly long since recovered. In the U.S. measles outbreak from 1989 to 1991, the CDC found seven to 11 people out of every 100,000 infected with measles were estimated to be at risk for developing SSPE, but some studies have shown the risk could be as high as one in every 609 for infants under the age of 15 months.
What is the measles vaccine and when do you usually get it?
Measles is vaccine-preventable and was previously eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, meaning it was absent from the states for a period of longer than 12 months.
The last major occurrence of measles in the U.S. occurred six years ago when 22 outbreaks led to 1,249 cases from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1. According to the CDC, the 2019 outbreak was the highest in a single year since 1992.
Nationwide, childhood immunization rates against serious diseases like measles are declining as more parents request non-medical exemptions from recommended vaccinations, according to the CDC, resulting in increased incidences of resurgence. The CDC reported 285 measles cases in 33 states in 2024; of those cases, 89% were in those who were unvaccinated or of unknown vaccine status.
In the U.S., the measles vaccine is usually given not alone but in combination with the mumps and rubella vaccines, called the MRR vaccines. Typically, children receive MMR vaccines as part of the regular course between the ages of 12 and 15 months for the first dose and ages 4 to 6 for the second. The vaccine protects against measles, mumps, and rubella and is 97% effective at preventing measles when both doses are given.
Contributing: Janet Loehrke, James Powel,
