The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 935 measles cases across 29 states on Friday — more than triple the total reported in all of 2024, The Hill reported.
Last year, 285 confirmed measles cases were reported nationwide.
The CDC’s latest update notes that the actual number of infections is likely higher, as the data includes only “confirmed” cases, not “probable” ones.
According to the CDC, 96% of those infected were either unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination statuses.
Texas leads the nation in reported cases with 683 confirmed infections, most of which are concentrated in Gaines County near the New Mexico border. Children younger than 18 account for 450 cases, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Two school-aged children have died from the disease in the state.
New Mexico has reported the second-highest number of cases with 67. One resident of Lea County, which is next to Texas, tested positive for measles after dying earlier this year.
Other states reporting measles cases include Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
Experts point to falling vaccination rates as the primary cause of the outbreak.
“Measles used to kill, you know, so many children, and we’re starting to see outbreaks again because parents are not getting their kids vaccinated,” said Dr. Dale Bratzler, dean of the University of Oklahoma’s Hudson College of Public Health, in comments to Nexstar’s KFOR.
Speaking to Agence France-Presse, Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins University said Gaines County in Texas has some of the “lowest rates of vaccination in the state,” describing the area as “kindling for such outbreaks.”
The World Health Organization warned that a population vaccination rate below 95% increases the risk of outbreaks due to the loss of herd immunity.
According to the CDC, vaccination coverage among kindergarteners has declined from 95.2% before the 2019 school year to 92.7% before the 2023 school year.
“I like to think of this like a forest fire with sparks spreading out,” said Dr. William Moss, an epidemiology professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “If those sparks land in a community with low vaccine coverage, we’re going to see a larger measles outbreak. If it lands in a community with high vaccine coverage, we may only see one or a few cases.”
Health officials urge parents to ensure children receive two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine to prevent infection and transmission.
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