Two dead and more than 200 patients in a measles outbreak in the US

A measles outbreak in the southwest of the United States has killed two people and infected more than 200, which has led to a health agency to issue a travel warning.

AFP

Until Friday, Texas has reported 198 cases and New Mexico from 10, which raises the total to 208.

Each state confirmed a death. Neither of the two patients was vaccinated. New Mexico’s patient tested positively in the measles test posthumously.

Although the official cause of his death has not been published, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have classified it as a death related to measles.

«More cases are expected as this outbreak continues to expand quickly,» warned the CDC.

«Now that the spring and summer trip season in the United States is approaching, the CDC ordered the important role played by doctors and public health officials in the prevention of measles propagation,» says the agency.

Recommends «being attentive» to cases that present fever and cutaneous eruption.

Measles is very contagious. It spreads through respiratory droplets and remains in the air up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area.

The disease causes fever, respiratory symptoms and a cutaneous eruption, but can also cause serious complications, such as pneumonia, cerebral inflammation and death.

Vaccination is still the best protection.

The measles vaccine, mandatory for children 12 months and older, confers an immunity for life of 93% with a dose, which increases to 97% after the second.

But immunization rates have diminished in the country, mainly due to the increase in misinformation about vaccines from the Covid-19 pandemic.

CDC recommends a 95% vaccination rate for collective immunity, but national coverage among preschool children fell to 92.7% in 2023-2024.

The current Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., spent decades criticizing the measles vaccine, paper and rubella (MMR), which linked to autism, an affirmation that has been completely discredited by scientific research.

Since the outbreak expanded, its position has softened, recommending vaccination although it also encourages treatments such as vitamin A and steroids.

While these treatments are medically valid, experts warn that emphasizing them can divert attention from the urgent need to increase immunization rates.