Texas: 2 additional measles cases reported in Gaines County
South Plains Public Health District is announcing two confirmed cases of measles in residents of Gaines County. Both cases are in unvaccinated school age children who were hospitalized in Lubbock and have since been discharged.
Texas DSHS is supporting the South Plains Public Health District and Lubbock Public Health in the disease investigation. These newly identified cases are in addition to two confirmed measles cases reported in unvaccinated residents of Harris County earlier this month. The Harris County cases were the first confirmed measles cases in Texas since 2023.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Measles virus can remain infectious in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area. Illness onset (high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes) begins a week or two after someone is exposed. A few days later, the telltale rash breaks out as flat, red spots on the face and then spreads down the neck and trunk to the rest of the body. A person is contagious about four days before the rash appears to four days after. People with measles should stay home from work or school during that period.
The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles. Some vaccinated people can occasionally develop measles, however symptoms are generally milder, and they are less likely to spread the disease to other people.