Widening Measles Outbreak In Texas Signals Problem With Vaccination Rate

In less than three weeks, a measles outbreak has jumped from two cases among unvaccinated children in West Texas to 48. Three cases have also been found in a neighboring county in New Mexico. Thus far, 13 children have been hospitalized. Vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles remain a public health threat. And with childhood vaccine hesitancy—or simply outright refusal—on the rise, the problem is likely to worsen.

The measles case count in Texas and New Mexico likely represents a fraction of the true number of infections. Health officials suspect that between 200 and 300 people are infected but untested. The cases in West Texas appear to trace back to unvaccinated members of a Mennonite community.