West Texas measles outbreak ends after 42 days, no new local cases

The measles outbreak in West Texas has officially ended, state health officials announced on Monday after more than 42 days with no new locally transmitted cases in the counties that had shown ongoing transmission. The final tally stood at 762 confirmed cases, with about 100 hospitalizations and two deaths, both of them unvaccinated children. While public health teams consider the outbreak extinguished for now, officials stressed that the threat remains in other parts of the country and that ongoing vigilance is essential to prevent a resurgence.

The outbreak began in January and was centered in Gaines County, a rural area with notably low vaccination rates. Officials said most cases were among children, and that the virus subsequently spread to other Texas counties as well as neighboring states and, in some instances, to Canada and Mexico. Health authorities highlighted that the majority of infections occurred in people who were unvaccinated or undervaccinated, and that only a small fraction of cases involved individuals who had received at least one dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Two children who were not vaccinated died during the course of the outbreak.