Texas Cases in Texas: At least 4 cases reported in the state as the percentage of the vaccine against the disease has dropped – ABC13 Houston

At least four cases of measles, including two, including school-age children, have been reported in Texas in less than two weeks, placing on state health agencies.

For some communities, this is the first case of measles in more than 20 years.

Laura Anton, a spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services, said the agency had sent a signal to health providers suppliers after confirming that measles were confirmed to have been found in two adults in Harris District last week.

Related: Symptoms of measles: Signs that you may have an infection

The signal stated that both persons reside in the same household and were unvaccinated against measles. These were the first confirmed cases of measles reported in Texas in 2023, when two were reported.

Measles is a highly contagious disease in the air. Common symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a whole body rash. This disease can have serious health effects and even death, especially for young and unvaccinated children.

About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the United States receiving measles will be hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Up to three out of every 1000 children who become measles infected can die from respiratory and neurological complications.

Houston’s Ministry of Health officials say the cases of measles have been related to the couple’s recent international journey and have launched a list of possible places and dates where members of the public may have been set out.

The State Health Agency also confirmed two cases of measles in the southern plains, both including school -age children who are not vaccinated. Anton said they were hospitalized and have been written ever since.

Catherine Wales, Health Director of Lubbock Health Department, said the children were treated at a health facility at Lubbock. They were from the area, but not the residents of Lubbock. Wales said that at that time there were no known exhibition sites outside the health facility where they were tested. As Lubbock is the South Plains Medical Center, they traveled to Lubbock for testing.

“We are working with the South Plains public health district and our medical partners to work and identify where there may be some community exposures,” Wales said. The State Health Agency helps in the investigation of the disease in Lubbock and the South Plains region.

Wales said the community should be aware of the cases, as well as for healthcare professionals who see rashes or high fever from their patients.

“We want people to know that there have been some cases here,” Wales said. “So, if they have concerns and are not vaccinated, call your health provider or health department for more information.”

Wales said the last Masters in Lyubbok County was in 2004.

Austinian public health also sent a signal to the potential measles epidemic, urging residents to take proactive measures to protect themselves and their families. The last confirmed case of measles in Austin was in December 2019.

“Vaccination is our best protection against measles and other preventive diseases,” said Desmar Wals, Medical Director and Health Authority for Austin/Travis County. “As we are in the course of vaccinations, we not only protect ourselves, but also the most vulnerable members of our community.”

The recent uplift in cases across the country is coming, as the percentage of measles vaccination among kindergartens has dropped, from almost 97% in the 2019-2020 academic year to 94.3% in 2023-24. Texas is among the bigger majority of the vaccination countries decreases after the pandemic.

In March 2024, there were already more reports of measles than in 2023, according to CDC.

The result of the country’s vaccination program, measles was officially eliminated by the United States in 2000, which means that the disease has not been spreading for more than 12 months.

Experts recommend that children receive the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella in two doses: the first between 12 months and 15 months of age, and the second between 4 and 6 years. One dose is about 93% effective in preventing measles infection, and two doses are about 97% effective.

Other diseases, considered long forgotten, are now returning.

Related: The measles outbreak puts us at risk eliminating status, says CDC

The decreasing cough returns to the levels before the pandemic. The polio, another disease that is believed to have been eradicated, was found in New York State in 2022.

Vaccine supporters are afraid of trends throughout the country will deteriorate as Texas legislators this legislative session is trying to weaken the vaccine mandates and more families abandon immunizations.

Since 2018, requests to the Texas Department of State Health Services for the release form have doubled from 45,900 to more than 93,000 in 2024.

Legislators have filed more than 20 vaccination bills, including a joint resolution of the Chamber, which proposes amendment to the Texas Constitution in order to maintain the right of Texas to refuse vaccination.

The re-election of President Donald Trump and his choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as his choice for the secretary of health and human services has strengthened the movement for the choice of vaccine. Earlier, Kennedy made conflicting comments about vaccines that include their binding to autism in children.

During his hearing to confirm this week, American senators questioned his trip to Samoa in 2019, months before 83 people, mostly children, died from a measles outbreak there.

Recently, Kennedy made some of his statements during the hearing, saying that he was not “anti-vax” but “pro-check” when he was asked to clarify his position on vaccines.

“I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing like a HHS secretary, which makes it difficult or discourages people to take something,” he said.

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