Measles Infecting Kids in Undervaccinated West Texas County

A measles outbreak has infected two dozen unvaccinated West Texas residents over the past two weeks, hospitalizing nine, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced on Tuesday.

The outbreak of the airborne respiratory illness currently is local to Gaines County, but “due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities,” the DSHS announcement explained.

All but two of the people infected are under 18: Sixteen were between the ages of five and 17, and another six were less than five years old.

Gaines County includes about 21,000 residents on the New Mexican border. Its county seat, Seminole, is about 75 miles southwest of Lubbock.

It is among the most vaccine-averse counties in Texas for schoolchildren, according to DSHS data reported by the Associated Press. In the 2023-24 school year, nearly 14% of kids between kindergarten and high school had their parents opt out of at least one required vaccine, more than five times the state average of 2.3%.

And that’s probably an underestimate, DSHS Spokeswoman Lara Anton told the AP, because of the number of homeschooled students there who do not report their data.

Measles vaccinations are required for attendance at most public schools in the U.S., but Texas allows parents to exempt their children from vaccines for religious beliefs.

Some of the cases appeared to be tied to private religious schools in the district, according to the director of the South Plains Public Health District, but investigators are still reviewing potential exposure sites.

Measles cases have become more common nationwide as vaccination rates have fallen since the Covid-19 pandemic. In Texas, over the past decade, the number of students claiming vaccine exemptions has more than tripled, from 0.76% in 2014 to 2.32% last year.

In early January, DSHS officials recorded two cases of measles in the Houston area, which don’t appear to be connected to the Gaines County outbreak. This month, Georgian health officials are working to contain measles infections in Atlanta.

Measles is “highly contagious” and can be life-threatening to anyone not protected against the virus, according to the DSHS. Early symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes.

Before the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963, up to four million Americans were infected with the disease each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now, fewer than 200 people are infected in the U.S. in a normal year.

“The majority of cases in the United States have been among people who are not vaccinated against measles,” according to the CDC.