Growing Measles outbreak erupts in one of Texas least vaccinated counties 9 cases are confirmed and 3 are probable. Officials says more are likely to come. Beth Mole Feb 7, 2025 4:51 pm | 21 Measles rash on the body of the child. Credit: Getty | Povorozniuk Liudmyla Measles rash on the body of the child. Credit: Getty | Povorozniuk Liudmyla Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreHealth officials in Texas are battling a growing measles outbreak in an area that has some of the state's lowest vaccination rates and highest non-medical exemptions.On January 30, officials reported two measles cases in unvaccinated, school-aged children in Gaines County, which sits at the border of New Mexico and is around 90 miles southwest of Lubbock, Texas. Both children were hospitalized in Lubbock and had been discharged.As of mid-day February 7, the outbreak total reached nine confirmed measles cases in the South Plains Public Health District (SPPHD) that includes Gaines, according to Zach Holbrooks, Executive Director for SSPHD. In an interview with Ars, Holbrooks reported that there were three additional probable cases that are linked to the confirmed cases. These are cases in the same household or familymaybe a cousin or siblingthat are showing measles symptoms but haven't been tested yet or gotten their test results back yet, Holbrooks said. So far, there have been no other reports of hospitalizations besides those in the first two cases.Holbrooks said he expected the number of confirmed cases to rise by the end of the day or tomorrow morning.Vulnerable communityGaines County has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state of Texas and has among the highest rates of children with "conscientious exemptions" to school vaccination requirements.According to state data for the 20232024 school year, only about 82 percent of kindergarteners in public schools in Gaines County were up to date on their vaccinations, including doses of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. The public health target for vaccination coverage is 95 percent, which is the level that can prevent community spread of vaccine-preventable diseases and shield vulnerable members, including children too young to vaccinate and people with compromised immune systems.With 82 percent vaccinated, Gaines County ranks in the bottom ten counties with the lowest coverage among those reporting data (four counties out of over 250 did not report). Nearly 18 percent of kindergarteners in Gaines have conscientious exemptions, which is an exemption from school vaccination requirements based on reasons of conscience, including a religious belief.Still, the county-wide number obscures pockets of yet lower vaccination rates. That includes the independent public school district in Loop, in the northeast corner of Gaines, which had a vaccination rate of 46 percent in the 20232024 school year.Holbrooks noted that the county has a large religious community with private religious schools. These may have yet lower vaccination rates. Holbrooks said that, so far, the measles cases being seen and traced in the outbreak are linked to those private schools.Public health responseTo try to prevent disease transmission, Holbrooks and other state and local officials are getting the word out about the outbreak and running vaccination clinics. About 30 children were vaccinated in a mobile vaccination drive yesterday, he reported."We're trying to get out the message about how important vaccination is," he said.He's also emphasizing that, while children with measles symptomsvery high fever, cough, runny nose, red/watery eyes, and of course, the tell-tale rashshould see a health care provider, parents need to call the office in advance so a child potentially infected with measles doesn't end up sitting in a waiting room among other potentially vulnerable children."Measles is highly communicable," he notes. The viral illness is one of the most highly infectious diseases on the planet, and about 90 percent of unvaccinated people who are exposed to it will end up falling ill. The virus spreads through the air and can linger in the airspace of a room for up to two hours after an infected person has left.In addition to a generally miserable illness, measles can cause complications: 1 in 5 unvaccinated people with measles in the US end up hospitalized. About 1 in 10 develop ear infections and/or diarrhea, and 1 in 20 develop pneumonia. Between 1 to 3 in 1,000 die of the infection. In rare cases, it can cause a fatal disease of the central nervous system called Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, which typically develops 7 to 10 years after an infection. Measles can also devastate immune responses to other infections (immune amnesia), making people who recover from the illness vulnerable to other infectious diseases.Health officials have generally raised concerns about outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases as vaccination rates have slipped nationwide and vaccine exemptions have hit record highs. Anxiety over the risks has only heightened as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is poised to become the country's top health official. Kennedy is a prominent anti-vaccine advocate who has spent decades spreading misinformation about vaccines.Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 21 Comments