A second child in Texas has died from measles
7/4/2025 6:05
A second child in Texas has died from measles, one of the
world's most contagious illnesses that was declared eliminated
from the United States in 2000, several decades after the
introduction of a highly effective vaccine.
A decline in vaccination among U.S. children in recent
years, fueled by unscientific claims that the shots are unsafe,
has triggered larger outbreaks. Here is what you need to know
about measles:
WHY WORRY ABOUT MEASLES NOW?
There have been more U.S. measles cases in the first months of
2025 than in all of 2024. In addition to the outbreak in West
Texas and New Mexico, the U.S. has reported 607 cases as of
April 3, including 124 in the previous week.
In Europe, 127,350 cases were reported in 2024, double the
number in 2023 and the highest in 25 years, according to the
World Health Organization and UNICEF, the United Nations
children's organization.
In the decade before a vaccine became available in 1963,
there were 3 to 4 million U.S. measles cases each year – mostly
in children - with 48,000 hospitalizations and 400 to 500
deaths.
Complications from measles include ear infections, hearing
loss, pneumonia, croup, diarrhea, blindness and swelling of the
brain. Even in healthy children, measles can cause serious
illness and death. In unvaccinated pregnant women, measles may
cause premature birth or a low-birthweight baby.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
estimates that about 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the U.S. who
get measles will need hospitalization.
HOW ARE MEASLES INFECTIONS PREVENTED?
The best protection is the vaccine, either given alone or as
part of a Measles-Mumps-Rubella shot commonly known as the MMR
vaccine or a Measles-Mumps-Rubella-Varicella (MMRV) vaccine. No
vitamins or drugs have been shown to prevent measles.
Two doses of the MMR vaccine provide 97% protection against
the virus. Children typically first receive the vaccine when
they are 12 to 15 months old and again at age 4 to 6 years.
Adults born before 1957 are presumed to have acquired
immunity as they most likely had measles during childhood.
Adults who do not remember having measles and don't know
whether they were vaccinated should get a dose of the vaccine,
the CDC says. The agency also advises a booster dose for adults
who received boosters many years ago who might be exposed to an
outbreak.
HOW ARE MEASLES OUTBREAKS PREVENTED?
At least 95% of kindergarten-age children need to have
received the measles vaccine to achieve so-called herd immunity
that can prevent outbreaks.
That goal has become elusive in recent years as public
figures have promoted theories - contrary to scientific evidence
- that childhood vaccines are a cause of autism and other health
risks. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who heads the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, has helped sow such doubts for
decades.
The idea stems from a long since-debunked study of 12
children led by British researcher Andrew Wakefield in the late
1990s that connected autism to the measles vaccine. No rigorous
studies have found links between autism and vaccines or
medications, or their components such as thimerosal or
formaldehyde.
Vaccination coverage among U.S. kindergartners decreased
from 95.2% during the 2019–2020 school year to 92.7% in
2023–2024, according to the CDC.
The Texas county at the center of the current outbreak had
an 80% vaccination rate among kindergarten children in
2023-24. Vaccination rates below what is needed to reach herd
immunity leave those who cannot receive the vaccine unprotected
and vulnerable to the virus, including young infants and
individuals with immune disorders.
HOW DOES MEASLES SPREAD?
Measles spreads via respiratory droplets produced by
coughing or sneezing. Virus particles can remain suspended in
the air for up to two hours. If one person has measles, up to
90% of unvaccinated people nearby will become infected, the CDC
says.
Symptoms including cough, runny nose, inflamed eyes, sore
throat, fever, and the telltale red, blotchy skin rash don't
appear until 10 to 21 days after exposure. Because infected
people can unknowingly spread the disease to others during that
time, health experts advise a 21-day quarantine for unvaccinated
individuals who have been exposed to measles.
HOW IS MEASLES TREATED?
There are no specific drugs for measles. Treatments can only
help to ease symptoms and limit complications. The WHO
recommends rest, keeping hydrated with fluids, and using fever
reducers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
Antibiotics can be used to treat pneumonia and ear and eye
infections due to measles. Steroids have been used to treat a
rare complication of measles that causes brain swelling, but
steroids also weaken the immune system's defense against the
virus.
CAN VITAMIN A PREVENT OR TREAT MEASLES?
Vitamin A supplements, which have been raised by Kennedy as a
vaccine alternative, cannot prevent measles. Studies show high
doses of vitamin A can dramatically reduce severe complications
in children with measles, based on research in low-income
countries where malnutrition is common.
Any evidence in favor of giving vitamin A to measles
patients in the developed world "is weak at best," said Dr. Sean
O’Leary, chair of the Infectious Diseases Committee of the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
WHO and AAP warn that vitamin A in doses recommended for
measles must be given under a doctor’s supervision because of
the risk of toxicity.
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