Texas faces the worst measles in 30 years’

On February 16, officials reported that the whole state recorded 48 measles, doubled “in a short time”, of which 13 were hospitalized. Officials said that the infected person has not been vaccinated or has not yet completed the reminders of the injection.

The epidemic broke out in a rural area of ​​Texas, near the New Mexico border, spreading from Gaines district to Lynn, Terry and Yoakum districts. According to local media, nearly 30 years, the number of measles is not as high as the current level. In 1996, Texas Department of Health recorded 49 cases. The number of patients decreased stability later. In 2013, the state recorded 27 cases after an Asian traveler returned.

The diseases concentrated in a Mennonite community (the Protestant group according to Anabaptist) “closed, low vaccination rate”, spokesman Lara Anton of Texas Department of Health said. Gaines District is mainly rural, so many families give their children to study at small private schools or study at home.

“Not vaccinated is a personal choice, not due to beliefs. Everyone can do whatever they want, just this community does not often go to the doctor,” Anton said.

Texas is in collaboration with local health officials to enhance the screening and vaccination. Officials also strive to educate school cadres on how to perceive symptoms and encourage families to vaccinate children.

The measles virus is contagious, which can survive in the air for up to two hours. According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the incidence of disease is 90% if exposed to the virus. Before the vaccine, the US recorded from 3 to 4 million measles each year. Currently, the number is less than 200 cases a year. Last year, the country’s number of cases increased, including a serious outbreak in Chicago, causing more than 60 people to get sick.

Children in the United States are forced to vaccinate measles if they want to study at public schools. The Texas law allows children to free immunization at school for beliefs. The percentage of children exempted from immunization has increased in the past decade from 0.76% in 2014 to 2.32% last year.

Gaines District is home to the proportion of children and teenagers refuse at least one of the highest compulsory vaccines. Nearly 14% of people from 3 to 18 years old ignore the vaccine in the school year 2023-2024.