This article was originally posted February 28, 2025. It will be updated as news is announced.
Now 259 Cases in Texas Measles Outbreak
Mar 14, 2025, 3:00pm ET
The number of measles cases in the current Texas outbreak has hit 259, according to March 14 data released by The Texas Department of State Health Services.
Thirty-four of the cases have resulted in hospitalization, and one death (Feb 26th).
The department reports only two cases (out of 259) have occurred in vaccinated persons (zero in patients with one-dose and two in patients with 2+ doses).
Meanwhile, New Mexico’s measles outbreak has grown to 35 cases, and Oklahoma remains at two cases, all related to the Texas outbreak.
According to CNN.com, the three-state outbreak has reached 296 cases, which is already greater than the 285 total cases the United States documented in all of 2024.
As of March 14, 2025, CNN data estimates 320 cases in 2025, and “experts say this is probably a severe undercount.”
Texas Outbreak Surpasses 200
Mar 11, 2025, 5:00pm ET
The current Texas outbreak of measles has surpassed the 200 mark and now sits at 223 confirmed cases, according to March 11 data released by The Texas Department of State Health Services.
One hundred seventy-four of the cases have been confirmed in children under age 18, and 80 of the cases in unvaccinated individuals compared to five in those vaccinated with one dose of the MMR vaccine.
Seventy percent of the cases (156) have occurred in Gaines County in West Texas on the border with New Mexico.
The Texas epidemic has been linked to an outbreak in New Mexico as well as a two cases in Oklahoma, according to The Hill.
An update provided by the New Mexico Department of Health reports 33 cases as of March 11, with 27 occurring in unvaccinated individuals. One adult was diagnosed with measles post-mortem — the second measles-related death in the US this year.
Meanwhile, the first two cases in Oklahoma occurred in individuals with reported exposure associated with the Texas and New Mexico outbreak, according to the state health bureau.
“More cases are expected as this outbreak continues to expand rapidly,” the CDC said in a March 7 Health Action Network (HAN) advisory.
Texas Measles Outbreak Reaches 198 Cases
Mar 7, 2025, 5:00pm ET
The number of measles cases in the current Texas outbreak has grown to 198, an increase of nearly 25% since Tuesday, according to March 7 data released by The Texas Department of State Health Services.
One additional person has been hospitalized, bringing the count to 23. No additional deaths were reported.
According to the state’s data, 153 of the cases have occurred in children under the age of 18. Eighty of the 85 confirmed cases with a known vaccination status have occurred in unvaccinated persons, or 94%.
More information is available on The Texas Department of State Health Services website.
Texas Measles Outbreak Now at 159 Cases
Mar 4, 2025, 9:30am ET
An update from The Texas Department of State Health Services reports the state’s measles outbreak has grown to 159 cases, as of Mar 4, 2025.
The department reports that 22 patients have been hospitalized.
According to information released by the department, 127 of the 154 cases with known age data have occurred in children under age 18.
Eighty of the cases have occurred in unvaccinated children, five cases in vaccinated children (with at least one dose), with vaccine status unknown in the remaining 74 cases.
The department noted that vaccination was the best way to prevent measles: “The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a vaccine against measles, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles.”
A February 27 statement from the CDC said: “Supportive care, including vitamin A administration under the direction of a physician, may be appropriate.”
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr reportedly told Fox News that HHS was assisting the outbreak response by delivering vitamin A to affected areas.
“We’re delivering vitamin A,” Kennedy said in reference to how the federal government is helping in the outbreak. “Also cod liver oil, which has high, high concentrations of vitamin A.”
It’s true that vitamin A is sometimes given to help treat measles in low-income countries where malnutrition is a factor, according to the World Health Organization. Most people in the US, however, have normal levels of the vitamin and don’t need any kind of vitamin A supplementation. Too much, experts say, is toxic.
Vitamin A is fat-soluble, meaning it accumulates in the body rather than exiting through urination. That is, the more vitamin A you take, the more it accumulates in organs like the liver.
“You can easily overdose on vitamin A,” Dr. Ronald Cook, chief health officer at both the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock and the city’s Health Authority, said in an interview Friday. “It’s not to be used over the counter for anybody who says, ‘my kid has the sniffles. Maybe it’s measles.’ Don’t do that.”
via NBC News
Texas Measles Outbreak Grows to 146 Cases
Feb 28, 2025, 9:30am ET
An update from The Texas Department of State Health Services reports the state’s measles outbreak has grown to 146 cases, as of Feb 27, 2025.
The department reports that twenty patients have been hospitalized. On Wednesday, a school-aged child who lived in the outbreak area died.
According to information released by the department, 116 of the 141 cases with known age data have occurred in children under age 18. Seventy-nine of the cases have occurred in unvaccinated children, five cases in vaccinated children (with at least one dose), with vaccine status unknown in the remaining 62 cases.
The department warned that: “Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities. DSHS is working with local health departments to investigate the outbreak.”
