A measles outbreak in Texas, New Mexico and now New Jersey has state and local health officials on alert.
On Thursday, the highly transmissible virus was detected in East Texas for the first time since the outbreak began in late January in West Texas.
The four confirmed East Texas cases were detected in Lamar County this week, according to the Paris Lamar County Health District.
Lamar County health officials said the ages of infected individuals ranged from five months old to adult age. None of the infected were vaccinated against measles.
So far, the Texas Department of State Health Services has reported 259 measles cases statewide, resulting in 34 hospitalizations. An unvaccinated six-year-old died in Texas on Feb. 27.
Measles is among the most contagious viral infections and spreads through coughing, sneezing or close proximity to the infected.
Symptoms include high fever, coughing, watery eyes, a runny nose and, within two to five days, a red spotted rash appears, which is sometimes confused with chicken pox.
性视界传媒淢ost of the time, it性视界传媒檚 just the rash, and the kids do OK,性视界传媒 said Gregg County Health Authority Dr. Lewis Browne. 性视界传媒淏ut some of them develop a high fever, a severe lung infection, or encephalitis. That性视界传媒檚 inflammation of the brain.性视界传媒
One in every five measles cases requires hospitalization, and about three in every 1,000 cases results in death, the New Mexico health department said last week.
An infection is considered serious but is preventable with the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR), which combines three common vaccines developed in the 20th century into a single product.
Children typically receive their first dose at 12-15 months of age with a second booster at ages 4 to 6, though adults can receive the vaccine if they haven性视界传媒檛 already. The two-dose regimen is 97% effective in preventing a measles infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By 2000, vaccination effectively eradicated measles in the United States, but growing anti-vaccine sentiment following the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the return of deadly outbreaks.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promoted doubt about the efficacy of vaccines and stated that cod liver oil and vitamin A are effective treatments against measles.
Public health experts say those claims are pseudo-scientific and dangerous given the potential consequences of a severe infection.
Browne agrees.
性视界传媒淲e性视界传媒檝e got more and more people who believe vaccines are dangerous,性视界传媒 he said. 性视界传媒淭hey think all of them are bad, but there used to be a lot of kids that died from childhood illnesses which would sweep through communities until vaccines started getting introduced in the 性视界传媒50s, 性视界传媒60s and 性视界传媒70s.性视界传媒
性视界传媒淭he MMR vaccine is very safe,性视界传媒 Browne said. There is linking the measles vaccine to autism, one of the central concerns among vaccine skeptics.
Free vaccines and vaccine referrals are available at the Gregg County Health Department at 405 E. Marshall Avenue. More information on county vaccine services are available at .
