Texas reported 13 new circumstances of measles Tuesday even because the US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention is sending a crew of epidemiologists and medical doctors to assist the state with the rising outbreak.
The state has now reported a complete of 159 circumstances because the outbreak started Jan. 23. That features the sooner reported demise of 1 youngster, the primary US measles fatality in a decade. Texas officers mentioned 22 individuals have been hospitalized.
The CDC’s crew of seven is predicted to reach Tuesday afternoon to help in investigating circumstances, monitoring hospital exposures and giving well being care suppliers steering on prevention, a spokesperson for the Texas Division of State Well being Companies mentioned. Texas requested assist from the federal authorities on Feb. 28.
Katherine Wells, director of public well being in Lubbock County, mentioned she expects to get one CDC infectious illness doctor as quickly as Thursday to assist monitor the outbreak and assist public well being communications, together with answering calls from native companies on publicity protocols.
The CDC’s crew of seven is simply the beginning, Wells mentioned. She expects the company will ship extra individuals as soon as it’s clear what’s wanted.
In the meantime, New Mexico’s Lea County, which is subsequent to the Texas epicenter in Gaines County, reported that its measles circumstances remained at 9 on Tuesday.
Measles is a extremely contagious and lethal illness. Wells mentioned the outbreak has but to hit its peak with so many unknown circumstances.
“It’s only one automotive journey or one airplane journey of considered one of these individuals going into one other unvaccinated neighborhood,” Wells mentioned. “That is going to take a very long time to get this to the place the outbreak is over.”
Wells mentioned the county is receiving two further nurses to assist administer vaccines and has requested extra workers to conduct contact tracing. There’s a superb provide of leftover protecting tools from the Covid-19 pandemic, she mentioned. The true assist she wants is extra individuals on the bottom.
Lubbock has reported solely three measles circumstances to date, however is dwelling to the Covenant Kids’s Hospital that’s dealing with the care of youthful measles sufferers throughout the realm.
The Epidemic Intelligence Service officers present assist for at the least one to 3 weeks on the location of the outbreak, the CDC mentioned in a post on X.
The way in which to cease the outbreak is thru vaccinations, which limits how many individuals are prone to an infection, Wells mentioned. Texas has arrange cell well being clinics to manage the MMR vaccine within the space — a shot that’s 93% efficient in opposition to the virus after one dose. Greater than 250 doses of the vaccine have been administered in cell and public well being clinics from the start of the outbreak in early February to the top of the month, the Texas Well being spokesperson mentioned.
Gaines County, Texas, is dwelling to a big Mennonite neighborhood that has utilized for spiritual exemption from vaccines in colleges. Practically 20% of school-aged kids in Gaines County had spiritual exemptions from vaccines final yr, in keeping with state data.
The CDC has reported circumstances in 9 states as of Feb. 28, together with the New Mexico ones. The opposite circumstances within the US are associated to publicity from worldwide journey. In 2024, the US had 285 constructive circumstances for the entire yr, and nearly half of the circumstances have been hospitalized for issues.
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