The measles fireplaces in parts of Texas and Neo Mexico have been sick of almost 100 people, according to state health employees who warned that the number of cases is expected to increase.
An epidemic has spread through the Texas South Plains area since late January, the Texas Ministry of Health said Friday. The measles vaccination rates in the area are significantly delayed below the federal objectives.
On Friday, the department confirmed 90 cases of measles, with at least 77 of them being children. Sixteen people have been hospitalized, the department said.
The cases come amid growing concerns from public health experts on reduced vaccination rates and the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent skeptic vaccine, as secretary of the health of the nation.
Mr Kennedy, who reportedly questioned research on the side effects of vaccines, has vowed to check childhood vaccines.
In Texas, the majority of cases have gathered in Gaines County, an agricultural area near the border of New Mexico. Only in five of the 90 cases were patients with measles vaccinated. The rest were not vaccinated or had an unknown vaccination state, the section said.
The Ministry of Health of New Mexico said that, since Thursday, it had identified nine cases of measles in the LEA County, which was sharing borders with the epidemic area in Texas. Four of those infected were children, the department said.
The Texas Ministry of Health said it is working with local health departments to investigate the epidemic. Local health departments have expanded vaccination clinics and test nodes to try to stop cases.
Free vaccinations are offered at Seminole in Gaines County as well as County Lea, NM
Children need to receive measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to attend public schools in Texas, although exemptions can be granted for “reasons of consciousness”. However, County Gaines had one of the highest rates of exemption in the state last year, with more than 13 % of K-12 students getting rid of the vaccine, according to state data.
The vaccination rate in the county for kindergarten students who received the MMR vaccine last year was 82 %, about 10 degrees lower than the average public schools. Disease control and prevention centers have stated that when more than 95 % of people in a community have been vaccinated, most people will be protected through immunity.
The measles fireplaces, one of the most contagious diseases known in humans, have emerged in every area of the world. This also applies to the United States, where the disease was once declared.
There were 285 total cases in the United States in more than 30 states in 2024, according to CDC
The disease can seriously ill people or be fatal. About one in five non -vaccinated people infected with measles end up in a hospital, the CDC said.
The national vaccination rates for measles had already been reduced since the Covid-19 pandemic began and sat down to less than 93 % last year.
