Texas Measles Outbreak Now Nation’s Largest Since 2000, CDC Confirms

This is the worst case of measles in the United States in more than 20 years. It is currently spreading across the Southwest from Texas. This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the outbreak, which started in Texas and has spread to Oklahoma and New Mexico, has had more than 750 cases. This is more than the previous record of 697 cases set in 2019 in New York City.

Since January, more than 700 cases have been reported in Texas alone. More than 90 people have been hospitalized, and two school-aged children have died. They are the first deaths in the U.S. from measles in 10 years. The CDC sees the cases in Texas and the states that border it as part of a single, significant outbreak that is still going on.

They say that the real test will be this summer. Most measles outbreaks end when school is over, but if the number of cases keeps increasing over the summer, Texas could be in for an even worse public health emergency. Sahotra Sarkar, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, said, "We are going to be in bad shape in this whole southwestern area."

Low vaccination rates make the disease spread faster, especially in places like the Mennonite villages in Texas. More than 95% of people must have been vaccinated for herd protection to work. However, in some areas, that number is well below 95%. Sarkar stressed that the most important thing to do is to vaccinate children who are not safe.

"If we look at the past, it will go down once enough people are vaccinated," he said. However, it's hard to tell where new hotspots will appear because of how people move in the area.

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