The Texas public health department is now reporting a total of 505 measles cases in the outbreak that began in West Texas more than two months ago.
The case count has jumped in recent weeks. On March 25, the state reported 327 cases. In the two weeks since then, the count has grown by 178 additional cases.
Tuesday性视界传媒檚 update from the Texas Department of State Health Services showed two additional counties impacted. Borden County in West Texas and Randall County in the Panhandle have each reported one case. There are now 21 counties in the state that have reported measles cases in connection with the original outbreak.
Department officials reported Tuesday that 10 of the impacted counties have 性视界传媒渙ngoing measles transmission.性视界传媒 Those counties are Cochran, Dallam, Dawson, Gaines, Garza, Lynn, Lamar, Lubbock, Terry and Yoakum.
Among the 505 measles cases, the Texas public health department is reporting 57 hospitalizations and two deaths. Both deaths were unvaccinated, school-aged children without underlying conditions. They both died in Lubbock hospitals. One child died at the end of February, and the other died earlier this month.
The second death prompted a visit to West Texas from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Texas性视界传媒 case count does not include additional outbreak cases report in New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Including those cases 性视界传媒 56 in New Mexico and 10 in Oklahoma, as of Tuesday 性视界传媒 there have been 571 cases reported in the outbreak.
It性视界传媒檚 unclear how much longer the outbreak will last, health experts have said, but it性视界传媒檚 likely to be months longer. If the outbreak lasts longer than 12 months, it would threaten the country性视界传媒檚 measles elimination status.
Public health experts say that widespread vaccination would end the outbreak sooner.
The two-dose measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which is recommended beginning at 12 months of age, is 97% effective at preventing measles infection. Unvaccinated people are highly likely to catch measles if they come into contact with the virus, because the virus is so contagious.
Most unvaccinated people who contract measles will survive. But about 20% will be hospitalized, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Experts recommend the vaccine for nearly everyone, with the exception of those who are pregnant or immunocompromised.
