Texas outbreak could upend measles elimination claim by U.S.

1/5/2025 5:52

The United States declared measles eliminated 25 years ago, but the growing outbreak of the disease centered in West Texas poses a threat to this status and signals the possibility of measles becoming more common, reported The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

"The Texas outbreak, which began in late January, has sickened more than 700 people, hospitalized dozens and spread to other states. Measles has taken its first lives in the U.S. in over a decade," noted the report.

Some public health leaders and epidemiologists say it is possible the monthslong Texas outbreak could last longer than a year, endangering the U.S.'s status, it added.

The United States achieved the elimination milestone in 2000 after widespread vaccination efforts inoculated the vast majority of children with the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine.

The World Health Organization considers measles eliminated in countries where there is no endemic spread for at least 12 months under a robust tracking system. A disease is endemic when it has a regular presence within a population, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.