The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) continues to provide updated information regarding the outbreak of measles in the South Plains region of Texas.
As of March 11, the DSHS has reported 223 cases have been identified since late January.
Twenty-nine of the patients have been hospitalized. There has been one fatality in a schoolaged child who lived in the outbreak area. The child was not vaccinated and had no known underlying conditions.
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.
Measles cases by counties are as follows: Dallam County with five
cases;
Dawson County with 10
cases;
Ector County with two cases; Gaines County with 156
cases;
Lubbock County with three
cases;
Lynn County with two cases; Martin County with three
cases;
Terry County with 32 cases;
and
Yoakum County with 10
cases.
Age ranges for the reported cases are as follows:
Seventy-six cases are between zero and four-years-old; Ninety-eight cases are between five and 17-years-old; Thirty-eight cases are 18years-old or higher; and Eleven cases are pending.
Vaccination states of the confirmed cases has 80 cases no vaccinated, 138 with an unknown stated and five vaccinated with at least one dose.
Vaccination status is classified as unknown when the case investigation is still ongoing or when the person does not know if they were ever vaccinated.
The investigations into the cases who are currently classified as vaccinated are ongoing. A dose of MMR is given to unvaccinated people within 72 hours of their exposure to the measles to lessen the severity of the illness if they get sick from their exposure to the virus. The DSHS are looking into if any of these cases received their MMR dose after exposure.
Updates are posted on the DSHS website every Tuesday and Friday.