Growing measles outbreak in Texas pushes U.S. cases above 520

Fueled by the measles outbreak in Texas, U.S. cases this year now exceed 500 — the second-highest annual total in a decade. In Texas alone, 400 cases have been confirmed.

Fueled by the ongoing measles outbreak in Texas, cases in the United States this year now exceed 500, according to NBC News’ tally of state health department data.

The 523 cases recorded in less than three months represent the second-highest annual total the country has seen in a decade. In the only year with more cases, 2019, the United States nearly lost its measles elimination status.

Since the Texas outbreak began in late January, 400 cases have been confirmed in the state, the Department of State Health Services said in an update Friday. Forty-one patients have been hospitalized, and a 6-year-old child has died.

All but two of Texas' confirmed infections have been in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown.

The outbreak has spread to three other states: New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas, where the World Health Organization reported on Thursday that a DNA sequence of the virus in one case was identical to those from Texas.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/texas-measles-outbreak-grows-us-cases-rcna198557

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