Texas measles outbreak grows to 90 cases, worst level in 30 years

The measles outbreak in Texas has grown to at least 90 cases, reaching historic levels, according to officials.

Since late January, 90 cases of measles have been identified in the South Plains region, the state’s department of state health services (DSHS) reported Friday. At least 16 patients have been hospitalized as a result.

The majority of reported measles cases were in children and teenagers; minors between the ages of five and 17 accounted for 51 cases. Children under four made up 26 cases. Most patients’ parents either had chosen to not immunize them against the highly contagious illness through vaccines meant to prevent the potentially deadly illness and its spread, or their vaccination status was unknown.

Experts have warned that additional cases are “likely to occur” in South Plains and neighboring communities, given measles’ contagious nature. At least nine measles cases have already been reported in Lea county, New Mexico, which borders the region where the Texas outbreak is occurring.

A DSHS spokesperson told ABC News that the latest outbreak is the worst officials have seen in 30 years.

Gaines county, located in rural western Texas, is the epicenter of the latest outbreak, with 57 reported cases. The county, with 22,523 residents, had one of the state’s highest immunization exemption rates for the 2023-24 school year, according to DSHS data. Nearly 18% of students opted out of vaccinations, which had all but eradicated measles and other contagious illnesses before skeptics undermined confidence in them among some in the US.

Tonya Guffey, the chief nursing officer at Seminole hospital district, told NBC News many unvaccinated people in Gaines county are Mennonite, a denomination of Christianity.

“We have a high, high number of unvaccinated,” said Guffey to NBC. “It’s not that they’re not educated. It’s just what their belief is.”

She added: “We educate, we encourage, we do what we can for the community, but it’s their choice.”

Some school districts do make getting vaccinations against measles a mandatory attendance requirement.

In 2024, the US had 285 measles cases, the highest number since 2019, when nearly 1,300 cases were reported. Children under age five accounted for 120 cases, or 42%.

The Texas outbreak comes amid the Republican-controlled US Senate confirmation of Robert F Kennedy Jr, the avowed anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, to national health secretary. Donald Trump, the Republican whose second US presidency began in January, nominated Kennedy.

Kennedy has already taken aim at several vaccine-related initiatives, including ordering the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop several campaigns promoting vaccination.

Also, a CDC vaccine-safety meeting, comprising a panel of experts, was postponed.