There are at least 15 confirmed cases of measles in Gaines County, a rural county south of the Panhandle on the border with New Mexico.
At least eight cases were among school-aged children and at least seven patients have been hospitalized as of Friday. All were unvaccinated against measles.
Dr. Ron Cook, a family physician and the chief health officer at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, said at a press conference regarding the outbreak that, on average, one in five measles patients are hospitalized. The most susceptible populations are children under one year old and people with compromised immune systems, including those who are pregnant.
The outbreak marks the first time the area has seen the disease in at least two decades.
According to Cook, the best way to avoid contracting measles is to get vaccinated.
“The reason we haven't seen measles in 21 years is because most people get their MMR, [or] measles, mumps and rubella vaccine,” he said. “But there are individuals who choose not to do that.”
Measles vaccines can be given to anyone over the age of one, and even people diagnosed with the disease can receive a vaccine within 72 hours to mitigate symptoms. Babies under six months can be given an antibody to boost their natural immune response.
Those who are concerned that they may have measles are advised to isolate at home and contact their health provider to schedule an appointment so precautions can be taken to minimize potential exposure to others.
Symptoms include coughing, a runny nose, high fever and red, watery eyes. It could also include a rash of tiny white spots (Koplik spots) inside the mouth two to three days after symptoms begin or a flat, red rash that appears on the face and hairline three to five days after symptoms begin. This rash tends to spread downward to the neck, torso, arms, legs and feet.
The South Plains Public Health District began screening for measles from the Seminole Memorial Hospital in Gaines County on Monday.
Zach Holbrooks, executive director of the South Plains Public Health District, said when the cases were reported, the Health District quickly partnered with the University Medical Center in Lubbock to begin screenings.
The Gaines County outbreak comes shortly after a measles outbreak in Harris County in January – the first cases in Texas since 2023. Health officials said the cases in Southeast and West Texas don’t appear to be linked.
Holbrooks said that while the Harris County cases have not spread past two patients, Gaines County is still testing and expecting an increase.
Beyond protection on an individual level, Holbrooks described the MMR vaccine as a “strong tool” in preventing outbreaks of measles.
“Everybody has that choice. In Texas, there's no mandate that says you have to have it,” Holbrooks said. “But that's the risk: you get exposure in an unvaccinated population, you could have what you have now.”
Due to a high percentage of people receiving the MMR vaccine, the World Health Organization declared measles eliminated in the United States in 2000, meaning there was no continuous spread in more than 12 months.
But there has since been an increase in cases, due in part to vaccine misinformation.
According to Texas Health and Human Services, “measles can easily be re-introduced into Texas in unvaccinated communities.” This occurred in 2013, when a person with measles entered a vaccine-hesitant community and within a few weeks, 20 additional people were infected, contributing to what was Texas’ highest case count in more than 20 years.
Nationally, 2019 saw the greatest number of cases reported since 1992, mostly affecting those who were not vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the 2019-2020 school year, the CDC reported 95.2% of U.S. kindergarteners had their MMR vaccine. By the 2023-2024 school year, that number was down to 92.7%, which left about 280,000 kindergartners vulnerable.
Lubbock Public Health urges high-risk unvaccinated individuals to consider getting vaccinated.
If you’re unsure of your vaccination status or have questions, contact your healthcare provider.The South Plains Public Health District will continue a measles (MMR) vaccine clinic through Thursday. Screenings will continue all week from its clinic at 704 Hobbs Highway, in Seminole.
KTTZ's Brad Burt and Marfa Public Radio’s Travis Bubenik contributed to this report.