Texas measles outbreak nears 500 cases as virus spreads among day care kids

Six young children at a Texas day care center have tested positive for measles — a dreaded scenario with the potential to accelerate an already out-of-control outbreak.

Six young children at a Lubbock, Texas, day care center have tested positive for measles — a dreaded scenario with the potential to accelerate an already out-of-control outbreak that has spread to at least two other states.

More than a dozen other states and Washington, D.C. are dealing with cases of measles unrelated to Texas.

On Friday, the Texas Department of State Health Services said the toll rose to 481 confirmed cases, a 14% jump over last week. Fifty-six people have been hospitalized in the area since the disease started spreading in late January.

At the Tiny Tots U Learning Academy, a center with approximately 230 infants, toddlers and preschool-age children, the outbreak began on March 24, when a little girl who had been sick with fever and vomiting tested positive. She later needed to be hospitalized for pneumonia and trouble breathing.

Kids who have tested positive at the day care so far are between the ages of 5 months and 3 years old, said Maegan Messick, a co-owner of the center. None was fully vaccinated against measles.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/texas-measles-daycare-outbreak-confirmed-cases-rcna199631

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