Measles cases in Texas, New Mexico rise to 317 as outbreak spreads

By Bhanvi Satija and Christy Santhosh

(Reuters) -Measles cases in Texas and New Mexico rose to 317 on Tuesday from 294 four days ago, as the U.S. battles one of the largest measles outbreaks in the past decade.

The country has already surpassed last year's count of 285 infections, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cases are "on pace for about 1,200, a fourfold, almost fivefold increase from the year before," said Frederic Bertley, immunologist and CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based Center of Science and Industry.

In 2019, the total number of measles cases in the U.S. were 1,274, the highest it has ever been since 1992, according to CDC data.

Cases in Gaines County, Texas, the center of the outbreak, rose to 191 on Tuesday, compared with 174 cases on March 14. So far 36 patients have been hospitalized across the state.

In New Mexico, cases rose to 38 from 35 on Tuesday, including two cases in Eddy County and the rest in Lea County, which borders Gaines County.

On Friday, Oklahoma's health department reported four "probable" cases in unvaccinated individuals who were exposed to the outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico, and experienced measles-like symptoms.

"It can take months to a year to really get an outbreak of measles under control," said Virginia Tech infectious disease epidemiologist Lisa Lee, adding that the virus can be kept out of communities if 95% to 99% of the population is vaccinated.

An unvaccinated child with no underlying health conditions died of measles in Texas in February, marking the first death in the U.S. from the disease since 2015. Another death of an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico is still under investigation.

The CDC has said the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is the most important tool for preventing measles.

(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Maju Samuel and Vijay Kishore)