State health officials declare West Texas measles outbreak over

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The West Texas measles outbreak, the nation’s largest in 30 years, is now over, state health officials announced on Monday.

The Texas Department of State Health Services announced the outbreak was over after no new cases had been reported in 42 days.

“We arrived at this point through a comprehensive outbreak response that included testing, vaccination, disease monitoring and educating the public about measles through awareness campaigns,” DSHS Commissioner Dr. Jennifer A. Shuford said in a statement. “I also want to recognize the many health care professionals who identified and treated cases of a virus that most providers had never seen in person before this outbreak.”

The outbreak began in late January in Seminole and eventually spread to more than 10 Texas counties and to three other states — Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma — as well as Mexico.

As of Aug. 18, 762 Texas cases of measles were detected and more than two-thirds of the cases involved children. Ninety-six people were hospitalized and two Seminole children died from the disease. Most of those infected were unvaccinated.

The state health agency, which spent more than $10 million to combat the outbreak, insisted the end of the outbreak does not mean the threat of measles has passed. The best protection against the highly contagious respiratory virus is to be immunized with two doses of measles-mumps-rubella or MMR vaccine, which prevent more than 97% of measles infections.

While a small number of vaccinated individuals can develop measles, their symptoms are generally milder, and they are less likely to spread the disease to other people.

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