The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has risen to 90, according to new data released on Friday.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated or unknown vaccination status individuals, with 16 people hospitalized so far. Five cases included people who had been vaccinated.
A DSHS spokesperson previously told ABC News that this is the state’s largest measles outbreak in over 30 years.
Children and teenagers aged 5 to 17 account for the majority of cases, with 51, followed by 26 cases among children aged 4 and younger.
Gaines County is the outbreak’s epicenter, with 57 confirmed cases among residents, according to DSHS. State health data show that the number of vaccine exemptions in the county has increased dramatically.
In 2013, approximately 7.5% of kindergarteners’ parents or guardians applied for an exemption from at least one vaccination. Ten years later, that figure had risen to more than 17.5%, one of the highest in Texas, according to state health data.
Meanwhile, in neighboring New Mexico, at least nine cases have been confirmed in Lea County, which borders Texas, according to a state Department of Health spokesperson.
So far this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 14 cases in five states, excluding the recent cases in Texas and New Mexico, as well as those recently confirmed in Georgia.
Similar to the local outbreaks, all of the nationally confirmed cases are in people who have not been vaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
Measles is among the most contagious diseases known to humans. According to the CDC, just one infected patient can spread measles to nine out of ten susceptible close contacts.
Health officials have urged anyone who has not been vaccinated to get the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
The CDC currently recommends that people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between ages 4 and 6 years. A single dose is 93% effective; two doses are 97% effective.
According to the federal health agency, 3 to 4 million people were infected annually in the decade preceding the availability of the measles vaccine.
