A measles outbreak in Texas has grown to 48 confirmed cases, making it the state’s worst in nearly 30 years — and local health officials say additional cases are likely. At least 13 people have been hospitalized in the outbreak so far, Texas officials said.
Other states are seeing cases too. New Mexico’s Health Department confirmed a case there last week in an area that borders Gaines County, Texas, where the outbreak in centered. It said the teenager who got sick had not traveled to Texas and it’s unclear how they were exposed to the virus.
Alaska, Georgia, New York and Rhode Island have also reported measles cases this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On “CBS Mornings” Monday, Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, said lower vaccination rates allow measles to spread, noting that even a slight dip in coverage can lead to outbreaks.
“This is a measles outbreak that began in a very close-knit, rural, Mennonite community that has very low vaccination rates. And unfortunately, we have seen vaccination rates exemptions … really soar in Texas in recent years,” she said.
How contagious is measles?
Measles is known as being “the most contagious infectious disease out there,” Gounder said.
“You need very high levels of vaccination to prevent an outbreak. So even a dip from 95% coverage to 93% coverage can leave you vulnerable to having outbreaks,” she said.
The measles vaccine, however, is highly effective and safe. It is normally given as part of the combination measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.
“Two doses gets you to 97% protection and effectiveness against developing measles infection,” Gounder said. “We’ve seen hundreds of millions of doses given over the years worldwide. When you do not get the vaccine, that is when you have the risk of hospitalization and death.”
Before a vaccine became available in the 1960s, between 400 and 500 Americans — mostly children — died every year from measles.
According to recent KFF polling, about 17% of parents say they have skipped or delayed a vaccine dose for their children.
“This is up from about 10% just two years ago. So we’re really seeing a lot of exemptions [and] concerns about vaccination that are not warranted,” Gounder said.
Measles symptoms
Symptoms typically begin about seven to 14 days after a person is exposed to the measles virus. The initial symptoms may appear similar to those of many other common viral illnesses, including:
- Fever
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Red eyes
Then several days later, characteristic tiny white spots develop inside the mouth and a facial rash spreads to the rest of the body. Gounder describes the rash as a “flat, blotchy red rash.”
“You can get fevers that are as high as 104 — that’s where you start to worry,” she added. “And the infection can spread and cause severe disease in the brain, sometimes leaving somebody with cognitive issues, with deafness, it can spread to the lungs. So this is really not a minor infection.”
As many as 1 in 20 children with measles will develop pneumonia, CDC data show. While most people’s symptoms improve, about 1 in 5 unvaccinated people will be hospitalized, 1 out of every 1,000 will develop brain swelling that can lead to brain damage, and up to 3 of every 1,000 will die.
