At least 49 cases have been confirmed. Health officials — who are scrambling to get a handle on the vaccine-preventable outbreak — suspect 200 to 300 people may be infected.

Summary

A measles outbreak in rural West Texas has surged to 49 confirmed cases, mostly among unvaccinated school-age children, with officials suspecting hundreds more unreported infections.

The outbreak is centered in Gaines County, home to a large Mennonite population with low vaccination rates. Despite CDC support, Texas has not requested federal intervention.

The outbreak has now spread to Lubbock, raising wider public health concerns.

Experts warn it could persist for months without increased vaccination efforts, but skepticism toward vaccines remains a significant barrier.

  • minkymunkey_7_7@lemmy.world
    64·
    5 days ago

    Essentially, when you’re infected with measles, your immune system abruptly forgets every pathogen it’s ever encountered before – every cold, every bout of flu, every exposure to bacteria or viruses in the environment, every vaccination. The loss is near-total and permanent. Once the measles infection is over, current evidence suggests that your body has to re-learn what’s good and what’s bad almost from scratch. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211112-the-people-with-immune-amnesia

    • Kitathalla@lemy.lolEnglish
      18·
      5 days ago

      current evidence suggests that your body has to re-learn what’s good and what’s bad almost from scratch

      While that’s horrifying, I wonder if it could offer a glimpse into ways to get rid of allergies.