Texas measles outbreak 2025: Measles cases jump to 400

The total number of measles cases reported in connection with a West Texas outbreak has reached 400, according to the latest data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

In Friday's update, the agency reported 73 new cases since Tuesday.

One person has been hospitalized since Tuesday.

Texas measles outbreak

The Latest:

The 73-case jump is the largest reported by the Texas Department of State Health Services since the outbreak started in January.

The outbreak has seen 41 people hospitalized since the outbreak started. One of those patients was added in the latest update.

Only two of the cases reported have been from people who were confirmed to be vaccinated.

The majority of the cases are in Gaines County. On Friday, health officials noted 44 new cases had been added to the county's total, pushing it to 270 total cases.

READ MORE: Who are the Mennonites? Texas measles outbreak impacts community

In Texas, one school-aged child died from complications with the measles.

What they're saying:

Dr. Diana Cervantes is an infectious disease expert with the UNT Health Science Center.

"You start looking at those peaks. You'll start to see in that data, those epi curves," she said. "And that is what we're seeing in that Texas data. Every seven, ten days or so, you're seeing a spike, spike, spike."

Dr. Cervantes says one reason the numbers don't seem to be going down is thanks to how highly transmittable it is and for how long.

"With measles, it's contagious the first four days before you have the rash, and then four days after. So that's a pretty nice window there," she said.

With nearly all of the patients being unvaccinated children, there’s been a major push among local health departments to get folks immunized.

"We've actually been working with some of the schools and school districts that have low vaccination rates and sending staff out to help get their vaccination rates up," said Dallas County Health & Human Resources Director Dr. Philip Huang.

He warns of the recent cuts to the U.S. Health & Human Services to slim down the federal workforce is already trickling down.

"We're assessing the exact magnitude of it and looking at how we're going to be able to try to move forward," he said. "But there's significant cuts that we're facing."

Dr. Huang says they're already looking at scaling back how many vaccines they can provide.

"In an age of measles, with H1N1, the bird flu, all these things, these are what we need to be prepared for. And this drastically affects our ability to be able to be prepared," he said.

By the numbers:

Here are the total cases by county:

• Gaines County: 270
• Lubbock County: 23
• Lynn County: 1
• Terry County: 38
• Yoakum County: 15
• Dawson County: 14
• Ector County: 4
• Dallam County: 7
• Martin County: 3
• Cochran County : 8
• Lamar County: 10
• Garza County: 1
• Hale County: 1
• Hockley County: 2
• Lamb County: 1
• Andrews County: 1
• Midland County: 1

Here are the total cases by age:

• 0-4 years: 131 cases
• 5-17 years: 164 cases
• 18+: 80 cases
• Unknown: 25 cases

READ MORE: Measles vaccination rates in Texas: Find your school district.

Here is the vaccination status of the patients:

• Not Vaccinated/unknown status: 398
• Vaccinated with two or more doses: 2

What's next:

The Texas Department of State Health Services releases case updates on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Other measles cases in Texas

There have been other cases reported in Texas, but officials say they were not connected to the outbreak in West Texas.

Most of the cases were connected to international travel.

• Harris County: 3
• Erath County: 1
• Rockwall County: 1
• Travis County: 1

What is measles?

Why you should care:

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. 

Measles virus can remain infectious in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area. 

Illness onset (high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes) begins a week or two after someone is exposed. A few days later, the telltale rash breaks out as flat, red spots on the face and then spreads down the neck and trunk to the rest of the body. 

A person is contagious about four days before the rash appears to four days after. People with measles should stay home from work or school during that period.

Symptoms of Measles

Common symptoms of measles include: 

• High fever (as high as 105°F)
• Cough
• Runny nose
• Red and watery eyes
• Tiny white spots that may appear inside the mouth 2-3 days after symptoms begin
• Rash 3-5 days after other signs of illness. The "measles rash" typically starts at the face and then spreads down to the rest of the body.

How to prevent getting measles

The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a vaccine against measles, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles.

Some vaccinated people can occasionally develop measles; however, they generally experience milder symptoms and are less likely to spread the disease to other people.

What to do if you've been exposed to measles

If you think you have measles or have been exposed to someone with measles, isolate yourself from others and call your healthcare provider before arriving to be tested so they can prepare for your arrival without exposing other people to the virus. Measles is extremely contagious and can cause life-threatening illness to anyone who is not protected against the virus. Review your and your child’s vaccination history to see if you are up-to-date on your measles vaccines. Additionally, discuss with your provider your vaccination history and any questions about these vaccines.

Controlling outbreaks in group settings

• People with confirmed or suspected measles should stay home from school, work, and other group settings until after the fourth day of rash onset.
• During an outbreak, people without documented immunity from vaccination or previous measles infection should be isolated from anyone with measles to protect those without immunity and control the outbreak.
• According to the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Rule §97.7, schools and childcare settings shall exclude unimmunized children for at least 21 days after the last date the unimmunized child was exposed to a measles case.

HealthTexas