Mesling outbreaks are expanded in West Texas around county with low vaccination speed

Cnn
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An outbreak of measles is growing in a rural area of ​​western Texas, where vaccination rates are far below the recommended level.

At the end of January, two children in Gaines County were hospitalized for measles. Wednesday shared the state health department in a Health warning That the number of confirmed cases had grown to six.

From Friday afternoon, the outbreak has jumped to 14 confirmed cases and six probable cases among people who are symptomatic and had close contact with infected individuals, Zach Holbrooks, CEO of South Plains Public Health District, told CNN.

Studies are ongoing as cases have been identified in parts of the region that are outside the Gaines County lines where the first cases were reported.

All cases are believed to be among people who are not vaccinated against measles, Holbrooks said, and most of them are in children.

ONE Record part Of American kindergartens had an exemption from required vaccinations last school year, leaving more than 125,000 new schoolchildren without cover for at least one state mandate vaccine, according to Data Published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in October.

The US Ministry of Health and Human Services has set one goal That at least 95% of the children in the kindergarten will have received two doses of measles subway rubella (MMR) vaccine, a threshold needed to prevent outbreaks of the very contagious disease. The United States has now come under this threshold for four consecutive years.

MMR coverage is especially low in Gaines County, where almost 1 in 5 incoming kindergartens in the 2023-24 school year did not receive the vaccine. The 18% Vaccine exempt rate for the county is one of the highest in the state, according to Data From the Texas Department of State Health Services.

At the state level, vaccine exemptions were highest in Idaho, where more than 14% of the incoming kindergartens did not have their required shots, according to CDC data from last school year. Overall, Texas was slightly above the national average by approx. 4% exceptions.

Meslings is an airborne disease that can cause serious health consequences, including death, especially for adolescents and non -vaccinated children.

General symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash of red spots. About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the United States who receive measles will be hospitalized, according to the CDC. About 1 in every 20 children will develop pneumonia and others may develop a dangerous swelling of the brain called encephalitis. Up to 3 of every 1,000 children who are infected with measles can die from the airways and neurological complications.

In the health warning on Wednesday, the Texas Health Department warned that further cases “probably occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities” due to the very contagious nature of the disease.

Officials recommend that residents of Gaines County immediately improve their immunity and help prevent disease spread by ensuring that they are up to date with vaccinations. Children and adults who have not been vaccinated should get a dose immediately followed by another dose after 28 days. Infants between 6 and 11 months should get an early dose of the vaccine, and children who have had their first shot should get their second as soon as possible.

South Plains Public Health District started a measles clinic on Thursday, said Holbrooks, where daily tests and vaccination will be available from next week.