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The number of measles cases in Texas has risen to 400 amid the outbreak, while there have been 44 reported cases in New Mexico, authorities said in updates on Friday, March 28
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a Thursday, March 27 post that there were a total of 483 confirmed cases now across 20 jurisdictions in the U.S.
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The number of measles cases identified in 2025 is already higher than the amount reported in the whole of 2024, the CDC stated
The number of people to contract measles in Texas and New Mexico continues to rise amid the ongoing outbreak in cases, authorities have said.
On Friday, March 28, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) confirmed that 400 cases had now been “identified since late January” in the South Plains and Panhandle regions of the state, per a news update, with 41 of the patients being hospitalized.
The state agency said that out of the cases reported, 398 were either unvaccinated or their vaccination status wasn’t known, while two had been vaccinated with two-plus doses.
The majority of cases have affected the 5-17 year old age group with 164 listed, while there have been 131 confirmed cases in the 0-4 year old age group, 80 people 18 years old and over have caught measles and 25 people are pending, per the Texas DSHS update.
Two hundred and seventy cases have been reported in Gaines County alone, which makes up 67.5% of the cases identified in the state, the agency claimed.
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A stock photo of a person with measles
“There has been one fatality in a school-aged child who lived in the outbreak area. The child was not vaccinated and had no known underlying conditions,” the Texas DSHS wrote.
“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 release continued.
Neighboring state New Mexico reported 44 cases on Friday, March 28, per the New Mexico Department of Health. The agency claimed four of those affected had been vaccinated with at least one dose, while 32 were not vaccinated and eight people’s vaccination status was unknown.
The New Mexico Department of Health stated 42 cases had been reported in Lea County, with there being one death and two hospitalizations, per the update. Two cases were reported in Eddy. Overall, there have been eight cases in the 0-4 years old age bracket, 13 in the 5-17 years bracket and 23 in the 18+ age group.
“The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a vaccine against measles, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles,” the Texas DSHS said on its website.
The state agency told PEOPLE in an email on Monday, March 31 that “the case count reported last week was higher due to a combination of things, which may also include an increase in cases,” adding that “the epidemiology team focused on completing open investigations last week so that is a big part of the reason for a lot of new cases being added to the case count.”
“It’s too soon to say how much of a factor spring break was in the increase of newly added cases. The first day of the first spring break week in Texas was March 10 so we are at the end first incubation period today,” the spokesperson added.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a Thursday, March 27 update that there were a total of 483 confirmed measles cases now across 20 jurisdictions in the U.S.: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.
In the past three months, there have already been more measles cases than the number reported for the whole of 2024, with the CDC claiming there was a total of 285 cases last year across 33 jurisdictions.
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A stock photo of a child with measles
Pediatrician and infectious disease specialist Dr. Adam Ratner, author of Booster Shots: The Urgent Lessons of Measles and the Uncertain Future of Children’s Health, told PEOPLE last month that the outbreak is part of a “disturbing” trend, one that’s tied to a decline in vaccination rates since the pandemic.
“This is emblematic of trends in childhood vaccination, but also in how people think about public health, that are disturbing and are worrisome even for people who aren’t directly involved in this outbreak,” said Ratner, whose new book addresses the history of the disease and of the measles vaccine, which was introduced in the U.S. in 1963.
Prior to the vaccine, between 3 million and 4 million people were infected with measles in the U.S. each year, according to the CDC, and 400 to 500 people died annually. In 2000, measles was declared eliminated in the U.S.
As previously reported by PEOPLE, the unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas who died last month marked the first death from measles in the U.S. since 2015.
The CDC didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information on the measles outbreak.
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