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State health officials on Friday reported 39 new cases of measles in the South Plains region, raising the number of confirmed cases since January to 198, with 23 patients hospitalized.
At least two people have died — an unvaccinated person in New Mexico and an unvaccinated child in Lubbock.
The death in New Mexico was in Lea County. The county borders Gaines County, where the outbreak is centered. This brought the case number in New Mexico to 10, with seven of those being unvaccinated people.
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— City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (@SAMetroHealth) February 27, 2025
Dr. Greg Poland, the chief strategy and innovation officer at Atria and president and co-director of the Atria Research Institute, has studied measles most of his career. He said the severity of the virus is not stressed enough.
"We think of measles as a disease that can kill and cause disability," he said. "About one to three out of every 1,000 who get infected will end up dying. ... [O]nce you get measles, the only thing we can really offer is supportive care. There is no antiviral. There is nothing we can give that's going to reverse it, so ... make a wise decision now, before exposure."
Medical professionals like Poland have stressed the importance of getting the MMR vaccine since the outbreak began. Adults who are unsure of their vaccination status can request records from their primary care providers.
But some people seek out a measles infection, including parents who intentionally expose their unvaccinated children to an infected person during what’s called a “measles party.”
Dr. Jason Bowling, chief epidemiologist with University Health and an infectious disease specialist at UT Health San Antonio, said that type of exposure is far more dangerous than just getting an MMR vaccine.
"We have decades of experience with it. It's very well tolerated," he said. "Serious side effects are extremely rare and continue to be monitored too. So that's completely different than getting exposed to a virus or a vaccine and illness where you can have who knows what course and who knows what complications.
Measles complications can include pneumonia, hearing loss, meningitis, and death.
Bonnie Petrie contributed to this report.
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