The measles outbreak in the South Plains region of Texas has been linked to confirmed cases in New Mexico and Oklahoma.
The outbreak in West Texas is centered in Gaines County, which neighbors Lea County, across the border in New Mexico.
Gaines has reported 156 confirmed cases, more than two-thirds of Texas’s total of 223 cases. Across the border, Lea County has reported 32 of New Mexico’s 33 total confirmed cases.
When Lea County reported its first cases of measles this year, officials said they were not immediately able to confirm the connection to the outbreak in Texas. Measles is extremely contagious among unvaccinated individuals.
New Mexico’s Department of Health said it considers the outbreaks to be connected, referring to the ongoing situation as a “regional outbreak in New Mexico and Texas.”
“We consider this a regional outbreak of measles that has been linked geographically and by the strain identified through genome sequencing,” the department’s communications director, Robert Nott, said in a statement.
Oklahoma on Tuesday reported the state’s first two cases of measles and said they were linked to the outbreak in Texas and New Mexico.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health said the two individuals “reported exposure associated with the Texas and New Mexico outbreak” and are “experiencing symptoms consistent with the measles.”
“These cases highlight the importance of being aware of measles activity as people travel or host visitors,” said Kendra Dougherty, the department’s director of infectious disease prevention and response.
“When people know they have exposure risk and do not have immunity to measles, they can exclude themselves from public settings for the recommended duration to eliminate the risk of transmission in their community.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has sent mixed messages about the measles vaccines, suggesting that parents look into vaccinating their children against the virus, while emphasizing less effective treatments like vitamin A.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on March 7 that “more cases are expected as this outbreak continues to expand rapidly.”
“The risk for widespread measles in the United States remains low due to robust U.S. immunization and surveillance programs and outbreak response capacity,” it added.
— Updated at 3:50 p.m. EDT
