Measles outbreak

 

The measles outbreak in West Texas is linked with cases in New Mexico, officials said Tuesday, as well as new cases reported in Oklahoma. This brings the total number of reported cases to 258 across three states, with most of them — 223 — in West Texas, 33 in New Mexico and two in Oklahoma. A New Mexico health department spokesman said the state now considers it a "regional outbreak." Even with climbing cases, experts say these numbers are a severe undercount. Measles is a highly contagious airborne virus that can stay in the air or on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected person has left the room. Although most of the cases are in patients who were unvaccinated or who have unknown vaccination status, five cases were found in people who said they have been vaccinated with at least one dose. Last month, Texas announced the outbreak’s first death in a school-age child who was not vaccinated and had no underlying conditions.