epidemic

Medical disinformation connected to the West Texas measles outbreak has created a new problem. Children are being treated for toxic levels of vitamin A.

In Lubbock, federal grants helped hire workers to help with measles testing, vaccination to combat the outbreak that has spread to 15 counties.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reports these cases are among unvaccinated individuals in northeastern Oklahoma.

That raised the number of confirmed cases since January to 309, with 40 patients hospitalized, though the state does not report how many of those have already been released.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health launched a central location for measles updates on its website, following the identification of four probable measles cases in the state.

Public health experts say Texas needs better messaging on vaccinations and quarantining and more people conducting contact tracing to contain the spread.