US Measles Outbreak: Why Are the Cases Continuing Unabated in Rural West Texas with No End in Sight?

According to health officials, measles is continuing to spread across the United States as an outbreak in Texas continues to grow, spreading even to nearby states. The state health department said the number of confirmed cases has risen to 49, up from 24 earlier in the week.

The majority of those cases are in Gaines County, which borders New Mexico and has mostly affected school-age kids, with 13 hospitalisations. Doctors say all are unvaccinated against measles—one of the most contagious viruses across the world.

However, news reports say the latest measles case count likely represents a fraction of the true number of infections. Health officials suspect 200 to 300 people in West Texas are infected but untested and therefore not part of the state’s official tally so far.

According to experts, vaccine hesitancy, defined as delaying or refusing vaccination despite widespread availability, is a contributing factor to the outbreak. Data says vaccine exemptions among children in Gaines County—the epicenter of the Texas outbreak—have grown dramatically in the past few years and are said to be the main reason behind the growing cases of measles.

The state health data says around 7.5 per cent of kindergarteners had parents or guardians who filed for an exemption for at least one vaccine in 2013. Ten years later, that number rose to more than 17.5 per cent - one of the highest in all of Texas.

This mirrors trends seen nationwide. During the 2022–23 school year, 93 per cent of children in kindergarten had met the vaccination requirements, including for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to a 2023 report by the CDC. The report also found that exemptions from school vaccination requirements increased to 3 per cent during the same period, which is the highest vaccination exemption rate ever reported in the US.

The city of Seminole is the seat of Gaines County, Texas, and the epicenter of the current measles outbreak. It is located in a vast, flat region filled with ranchers and peanut and cotton farmers. There is also a large Mennonite population—a religious sect that believes in “total separation from the outside world,” according to experts.

Mennonites are believed to have chosen to settle in Gaines County, in part, for its lack of regulation on private schools, including vaccine mandates. As of the 2023-24 school year, Gaines County had one of the state’s highest vaccine exemption rates, at nearly 18 per cent, according to the data by the health department.

Measles or rubeola, is a viral disease that causes fever and a rash. It is highly contagious and spreads through the air when a person with measles talks, coughs, or sneezes. While there is no medical treatment for measles, you have to let the virus run its course.

According to doctors, symptoms of measles typically develop about eight to 12 days after you are exposed to someone with the condition. However, there have been times that it takes up to 21 days to develop symptoms after exposure. The most common measles symptoms include:

A few days after these symptoms begin, you will get a red, blotchy rash that spreads from your face to the rest of your body. The rash itself lasts about seven to 10 days.

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