The United States is facing its most severe measles outbreak in six years, with Texas accounting for nearly 500 of the 607 confirmed cases nationwide. Health officials are particularly alarmed by a cluster of infections in a Lubbock day care facility, where six children under the age of three have tested positive, all of whom were unvaccinated.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Friday that the state's total has climbed to 481 cases across 19 counties, a 14% increase from the previous week. At least 56 individuals in Texas have been hospitalized since the outbreak began in late January, with Gaines County alone reporting 315 cases-more than 1% of its population.
The outbreak at Tiny Tots U Learning Academy in Lubbock began on March 24 with a young girl hospitalized for pneumonia and respiratory distress after testing positive for measles. Maegan Messick, the center's co-owner, said the affected children ranged in age from five months to three years. She said that none was fully vaccinated against measles.
Messick described a lack of clear federal guidance as the outbreak spread through the facility, which enrolls around 230 children. "From what I'm being told, the CDC doesn't have a playbook for this," she stated. "We've just had to make judgment calls."
According to Messick, local officials are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but confusion persists. The CDC has sent 2,000 doses of MMR vaccine to Texas, yet has not held a public briefing on the outbreak. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, declined to comment on whether one is planned.
Nationally, 97% of measles cases involve individuals who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. The virus, which spreads easily through airborne transmission, had been declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. However, declining immunization rates have contributed to its resurgence.
At the Lubbock day care, staff are monitoring children for symptoms, isolating classrooms, and urging parents to vaccinate. "That's the best that child care owners can do right now," Messick said. "It's coming. There's no way around it."
Dallas County officials said they were forced to cancel more than 50 school-based vaccine clinics due to federal funding cuts, leaving underserved communities more vulnerable. Several other states are now reporting active outbreaks:
- New Mexico: 54 cases, mostly along the Texas border in Lea and Eddy counties
- Kansas: 23 cases
- Ohio: 17 cases
- Oklahoma: 10 cases
- Tennessee: 4 cases
In Harris County, home to Houston, a child with no travel history was diagnosed with measles this week, marking the first confirmed case in the county since 2019. Officials are awaiting confirmation from the Texas Department of State Health Services to determine whether the case is linked to the west Texas outbreak.
Katherine Wells, public health director for the city of Lubbock, said the risks of further spread remain high. "I think we'll have additional outbreaks in other day care centers," she said. "This isn't going to be the only one."
The World Health Organization recently reported that measles cases in Mexico are also tied to the Texas outbreak, raising concerns of cross-border transmission and extended regional spread.
