A measles outbreak that began in West Texas in January 2025 has infected at least 800 people across the state, making it the largest resurgence in the United States (US) since 2000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 800 measles cases in states such as Alaska, California, Indiana, New York, Texas, and Vermont. Gaines County, Texas, which borders New Mexico, has reported 684 cases. The area continues to report vaccination rates well below the 95 percent threshold needed to prevent outbreaks, according to abcnews.com.
Health officials confirmed that while most infections affect unvaccinated individuals, some vaccinated people have also contracted measles. As of April 25, officials reported ten cases in people who had received one dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and 12 in those who had received both recommended doses, according to abcnews.com. These cases highlight that although the MMR vaccine is 97 percent effective, it does not offer complete immunity, according to The New York Times.
Initially, doctors may not be able to recognize measles because it is highly similar to other viral illnesses. The red rash, which signals measles, does not appear until days after experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, and runny nose. Sometimes these symptoms cause doctors to misdiagnose patients with another infection, according to The New York Times. Public health experts warn measles is one of the most contagious viruses known to humans and can remain airborne for up to two hours. While most patients recover, the virus can cause severe complications such as pneumonia, brain swelling, and death, especially in young children, according to abcnews.com.
The virus has spread beyond Texas into New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Montana. New Mexico reported 63 cases across four counties and began investigating a potential measles-related death involving an unvaccinated resident. Kansas also reported 37 cases, suggesting a link to the Texas outbreak, according to The New York Times. Measles has already taken the lives of two children in Texas. One child died in February and another in April. Neither had received the vaccine, and they had no known health conditions, according to wsj.com.
As the virus reemerges, health professionals have begun educating themselves and their peers on how to identify early signs of infection. Dr. Leila Myrick, a family medicine doctor in Seminole, Texas, and Dr. Andy Lubell, chief medical officer of True North Pediatrics in Pennsylvania, discussed how they had never treated measles before this year and noted that most doctors today are only familiar with the disease from textbooks, according to The New York Times.
“Most practicing doctors, in today’s day and age, are not going to see it in real life,” Dr. Lubell said, according to The New York Times. “The generation of physicians who are currently, for the most part, treating patients haven’t actually seen what a measles case looks like other than from a textbook or a video.”
This outbreak has revealed weaknesses in both local health systems and the limitations of doctors. While the outbreak has urged many to get vaccinated, it has also reignited concerns about a possible link between the MMR vaccine and the recent rise in autism cases, contributing to ongoing hesitancy. Texas public schools now require the MMR vaccine, but state law allows parents to claim exemptions for religious reasons. Meanwhile, federal leadership has drawn criticism for this approach, according to The New York Times.
Featured Image by Ava Briganti ’25
