Texas measles outbreak grows, while New York and California report new cases
Los Angeles County in California, Suffolk County in New York and Howard County in Maryland detected their first confirmed cases of measles this year, while Oklahoma reported two possible cases, local health authorities said this week.
The spread of the highly infectious disease comes as an outbreak of more than 200 cases has continued to grow in Texas, and as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned health-care workers and potential travelers to “be vigilant” ahead of spring and summer travel.
Health officials in Los Angeles County – the most populous county in the United States – reported a case Tuesday in a resident who may have been exposed onboard a China Airlines flight that landed at Los Angeles International Airport on March 5.
The New York state health department announced on Tuesday its first known case of measles outside New York City this year. The patient, who is under 5 years old, lives in Suffolk County on Long Island.
In Howard County, just west of Baltimore, health authorities on Sunday reported a confirmed case in a resident who recently traveled abroad and was at Washington Dulles International Airport on March 5.
Two individuals in Oklahoma reported symptoms consistent with measles and had potential exposure to outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico, the Oklahoma Health Department said Tuesday. It praised the individuals for “immediately excluding themselves from public settings.”
“With measles outbreaks happening both in the United States and internationally, this recent case in our county highlights how important it is for anyone who has not been immunized to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine,” Muntu Davis, the Los Angeles County health officer, said in a news release. “Measles spreads easily through the air and on surfaces, and a person infected with measles can pass it on to others before they feel sick or have symptoms.”
In Canada, at least 146 confirmed cases have been detected this year up to March 6, along with 22 probable cases.
Much of the U.S. national alarm has centered on Texas and New Mexico, where outbreaks have grown in recent weeks, particularly in communities where vaccination levels are lower. At least 223 cases of measles have been detected in the South Plains region of Texas since January, the state’s health authority said Tuesday. Of those, 218 involved those who were not vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.
New Mexico’s health department had reported 33 total cases as of Tuesday, the majority of which are in an area along the border with Texas.
Two people in the United States have died of the virus this year, one each in Texas and New Mexico.
The CDC on Friday issued an advisory urging health-care professionals to look out for potential measles cases during the upcoming spring break and summer travel season, and to ensure that patients are up-to-date on their MMR vaccines.
Measles, which is most dangerous to children under 5, can cause a fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and tiny white spots in the mouth, called Koplik spots. As the disease progresses, some may experience a measles rash, which looks like small, raised bumps or flat red spots.
There is no specific cure or treatment for the virus. One or two of every 1,000 children who contract measles are projected to die, the CDC said in 2019, with pneumonia being the most common cause of death.
The United States declared measles eliminated in 2000, meaning the disease had not spread domestically for more than 12 months. It credited the achievement to widespread immunization campaigns after the vaccine became available in 1963.
However, the national vaccination rate for measles has dropped in recent years, particularly since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and a rise in vaccine skepticism. Even a small decline in vaccination can significantly increase the likelihood of an outbreak. Measles can “easily cross borders” in any community where vaccination rates are below 95%, according to the CDC.
About 94% of measles cases detected this year as of March 6 involved people who were unvaccinated or had no known vaccination status, according to the most recent CDC figures. Seventeen percent of known cases this year have led to hospitalizations, and the majority of those affected so far have been people age 19 and under.
- – -
Lena H. Sun contributed to this report.