Public health officials in New Mexico and Texas are racing to contain a measles outbreak that infected almost 100 individuals over the last month. Texas reported 90 cases, with the majority of them involving children and teenagers under the age of 17. New Mexico has nine confirmed cases in Lea County along the Texas border. The outbreak serves as an indicator of increased worries regarding vaccination rates declining and the return of preventable illnesses.
A Highly Contagious Threat
Measles is the most infectious disease known to mankind. It is transmitted by respiratory droplets and can remain suspended in the air for up to hours. The symptoms are fever, cough, runny nose and a characteristic rash, but the complications can be serious. The virus is more dangerous for young children and pregnant women, and it can cause pneumonia, neurological impairment and even death. Long-term complications such as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a fatal brain disease, can also occur in survivors.
The Role of Vaccination Rates
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine provide 97% protection against the virus. However, to achieve herd immunity, a community must have a 95% vaccination level in order to stop outbreaks. Texas’ 2023-2024 kindergartener vaccination rate was 94.3%, with New Mexico’s hitting the recommended 95%. Yet increasing exemption levels in some regions have spurred susceptibility to outbreaks.
In Texas’s Gaines County—where 57 cases have occurred—vaccine exemptions have increased by more than double in the last decade. A large segment of the population is affected is Mennonite, which historically has lower vaccination coverage because of religious reasons. Among the 90 cases in Texas, 85 were among unvaccinated or status-unknown individuals.
Vaccine Hesitancy and Policy Challenges
The measles outbreak coincides with increased vaccine scepticism fueled by misinformation on vaccine safety. In Texas, parents are able to submit “conscientious exemptions” for their children to be exempt from school vaccination requirements, a movement that has grown stronger in the last few years. Although health officials stress the need for immunisation, some leaders are slow to implement stronger measures.
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Efforts to Contain the Outbreak
To fight back against the epidemic, New Mexico has started free clinics of vaccination and is calling out for unvaccinated locals to get inoculated. Amid growing cases of measles, the most powerful arsenal for avoiding transmission and safeguarding weakened individuals is immunisation.
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