menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Measles cases top 300 in Texas, NM

3 14
20.03.2025
*{box-sizing:border-box}body{margin:0;padding:0}a[x-apple-data-detectors]{color:inherit!important;text-decoration:inherit!important}#MessageViewBody a{color:inherit;text-decoration:none}p{line-height:inherit}.desktop_hide,.desktop_hide table{mso-hide:all;display:none;max-height:0;overflow:hidden}.image_block img div{display:none}sub,sup{font-size:75%;line-height:0}#converted-body .list_block ol,#converted-body .list_block ul,.body [class~=x_list_block] ol,.body [class~=x_list_block] ul,u .body .list_block ol,u .body .list_block ul{padding-left:20px} @media (max-width:620px){.desktop_hide table.icons-outer{display:inline-table!important}.image_block div.fullWidth{max-width:100%!important}.mobile_hide{display:none}.row-content{width:100%!important}.stack .column{width:100%;display:block}.mobile_hide{min-height:0;max-height:0;max-width:0;overflow:hidden;font-size:0}.desktop_hide,.desktop_hide table{display:table!important;max-height:none!important}.reverse{display:table;width:100%}.reverse .column.first{display:table-footer-group!important}.reverse .column.last{display:table-header-group!important}.row-10 td.column.first .border,.row-8 td.column.first .border{padding:5px 5px 15px 25px}.row-10 td.column.last .border,.row-12 td.column.last .border,.row-8 td.column.last .border{padding:5px 20px 25px 5px}.row-12 td.column.first .border{padding:5px 5px 15px 25px;border-bottom:15px solid transparent}} Click in for more news from The Hill

{beacon}

Health Care

Health Care

 

The Big Story

Texas, New Mexico measles outbreak passes 300 cases

More than 300 measles cases have now been confirmed in the ongoing outbreak that began in Texas’s South Plains region and bled into neighboring New Mexico, surpassing the total number of American cases seen all last year.

© AP

According to the latest update from the Texas Department of State Health Services, 279 measles cases have been reported in the state. In New Mexico, 38 cases have been confirmed as of Tuesday, totaling 317 cases across both states.

In 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 285 cases nationally.

The cases have primarily occurred in Gaines County, Texas, and Lea County, N.M., which sit opposite each other on the Texas-New Mexico border. Of the cases in Texas, 36 have resulted in hospitalizations, while two people have been hospitalized in New Mexico.

There have been two deaths, one in each state, related to the current measles outbreak, and both occurred in patients who were unvaccinated. The death in Texas was directly attributed to measles, while the cause of death for the New Mexican individual, who tested positive for the virus, is still being investigated.

The numbers coming out of Texas have fluctuated as more information is gathered, with there apparently being fewer breakthrough measles cases than initially believed.

Texas health authorities found that after further investigation, three cases previously considered vaccinated were not. Two of the individuals had received a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine dose just one to two days before symptoms began, while the third case appeared to have been a reaction to the vaccine and was not a true infection.

It takes 14 days after vaccination for the body to develop an immunity to measles, and it is only at that point at which someone is considered fully vaccinated.

 

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

 

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

 

Essential Reads

How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:

 

Purdue Pharma asks bankruptcy judge to accept new settlement plan

Purdue Pharma has filed a new bankruptcy plan as part of a $7.4 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits over the company’s alleged role in the opioid crisis, months after the Supreme Court blocked a prior deal. The bankrupt company announced Tuesday it had filed a Chapter 11 Plan of........

© The Hill