Measles cases in Texas rise to 683
REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON/FILE PHOTO
A measles alert sign hangs outside the entrance to the Cohen Children’s Medical Center, where the state health department confirmed that a baby tested positive and that there is a possibility of exposure to others at the facility, in New Hyde Park, New York, on March 14.
The Texas health department reported 683 cases of measles in the state today, an increase of 20 since April 29, as cases of the childhood disease surpass the 900-mark in one of the worst outbreaks in the country.
As of May 1, a total of 935 confirmed measles cases were reported by 30 jurisdictions, with 12 outbreaks reported this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.
Cases in Gaines County, the center of the outbreak, was 396, same as its last update, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.
Eighty nine patients have been hospitalized, over the course of the outbreak, the department said.
New Mexico’s health department reported 67 cases today, one more case from its last update. Most of the state’s cases are from Lea County, adjacent to Gaines County in Texas.
Researchers have warned that the country is at a tipping point for the return of endemic measles, a quarter century after the disease was declared eradicated in the country.
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Illinois health officials on Wednesday confirmed two measles cases in Cook County.
U.S. pediatricians and infectious disease experts say the fight against rising measles cases nationwide is being hampered by a lack of forceful advocacy for vaccination from government health officials and statements on unproven treatments that are confusing parents.
