Measles Update: Texas Outbreak Increases, Northeast Reports Cases, CDC Deployed to Help
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is on the ground in Texas helping the state’s department of health with the outbreak.
Image credit: CDC
On Tuesday, the Texas Department of State Health Services provided an update on the measles outbreak in the state. Authorities reported that 159 cases had been identified to date, with 22 of the patients being hospitalized in western counties in the state. Gaines County has reported the highest number of cases with 107. There has been 1 death of a school-aged child that was not vaccinated.1
In total, there have been 80 cases in unvaccinated children, 74 cases in individuals with unknown vaccine status, and 5 in people who were vaccinated with at least 1 dose.1 Typically, it takes 2 doses of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine to be considered fully vaccinated.
Additionally, there are 4 cases in Texas that are not associated with the outbreak in the western portion of the state. These cases were deemed to be associated with international travel.1
Read more: Measles: The Canary in the Coal Mine for Childhood Vaccine Decline
In light of the severity of this outbreak, Texas state officials are working directly with the CDC to address it. The CDC has a platform called Epi-Aid, with which requests can be filed for the federal agency to respond to by helping to investigate a public health issue, such as an outbreak. The CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) responds to these requests.1 According to a message on X, CDC said EIS officers provide local officials onsite support for 1-3 weeks, aiding in quick decision-making to control health threats. The local authority leads the investigation while collaborating with CDC experts.2
“The measles outbreak in Texas is a call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health. By working together—parents, healthcare providers, community leaders, and government officials, we can prevent future outbreaks and protect the health of our nation. Under my leadership, HHS is and will always be committed to radical transparency to regain the public’s trust in its health agencies,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said in a statement.2
Cases Outside Texas
As of this past Tuesday, the New Mexico Department of Health had reported 9 cases of measles in Lea County. This has not changed in recent days.3
Additionally, there have been some measles cases in the northeastern US, including 2 cases in New York City, 3 cases in New Jersey, and 1 case in Pennsylvania. Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, and Rhode Island have also reported cases. As of February 27, 93% of cases have been considered outbreak-associated. For comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during 2024, of which 69% of cases were outbreak-associated. A handful of other states are also reporting small numbers of cases.4
The CDC is expected to update its website for the total number of cases in the US on Friday, March 7.
Measles Detection: Recent Data
Recently published data from researchers in Belgium has identified measles virus genotype D8 in wastewater samples from Brussels, raising concerns about silent transmission in the region.5 Study researcher Elke Wollants, the lab manager at Clinical & Epidemiological Virology at KU Leuven, noted that “Wastewater surveillance offers a noninvasive way to monitor virus circulation within a population, independent of clinical testing. This is especially valuable for diseases like measles, where not all cases are reported.”
The ability to detect outbreaks early enables more targeted public health responses—such as those efforts underway in the United States—suggesting some potential for undetected transmission. In Belgium, Wollants and colleagues identified and confirmed a match with 15 known cases, suggesting broader circulation than originally believed. Wastewater surveillance detected the virus before major case spikes in Belgium, showing how early warning systems could support targeted interventions in Texas. Wollants also mentioned that "Measles is making a comeback in Europe," suggesting that this is a possibly global issue.
