By Bhanvi Satija
(Reuters) – Future cases in Texas and New Mexico rose to 294 on Friday, surpassing all US lawsuits recorded in 2024, resulting in an incident that occurred in a western Texas spread in late January.
The US reported 285 infections last year, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cases in New Mexico and Texas have increased by 38 over the past three days, data from the health departments of the two states showed Friday.
There were 174 cases from Gaines County, Texas, compared to the 156 cases on March 11th. So far, 34 patients have been hospitalized in the state.
New Mexico rose from 33 to 35 on Friday. This includes two cases from Eddy County, with the rest adjacent to Gaines County.
On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Health Department reported two “potential” incidents after an individual exposed to the Texas and New Mexico outbreak experienced measles-like symptoms.
Daniel Nichols, a virologist at Seton Hall University, said at this stage it would be difficult to know if the outbreak is spreading beyond the two states.
“But for now, that’s still a big concern as the cases are still up,” he said.
A child who has not been vaccinated without underlying health conditions died of measles in Texas in February, marking its first death in the US since 2015.
Growing outbreaks are the first major challenge for U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a longtime vaccine skeptic who highlighted the role of parents in their decision to vaccinate their children.
The CDC says measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines are the most important tools to prevent measles.
The Texas Department of Health has classified 257 patients as “unvaccinated or unknown” or those who have not recorded measles vaccine doses more than 14 days before symptoms appear.
After further investigation, the Texas Department of Health said it removed one Lubbock County resident from the case because it determined that the test results had experienced a vaccine response and were not infected.
Side effects of the vaccine include arm pain, fever, mild rash, temporary joint pain or stiffness, according to the CDC.
(Reporting by Bengaluru Bamvi Satya and Mariam Sunny, edited by Devika Syamnath and Alan Barona)
