EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) —Health officials in El Paso say adults are the most impacted by the measles spike in the region.
According to the City of El Paso Department of Public Health, there are 38 confirmed measles cases in the region, with 25 of those cases involving people 18 years old and older.
“Two out of three of the cases that we’re having, the measles have been confirmed in adults. That is a little bit different than what we’re seeing in the outbreak, in the west part of Texas,” El Paso City-County Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza said.
Typically, children are considered the most vulnerable to measles, which is highly contagious and can lead to severe health complications.
Travel is also raising concerns, as nearby areas are seeing significant outbreaks. The state of Chihuahua, Mexico, has reported 560 measles cases as of Tuesday, according to local health officials.
Ocaranza emphasized the importance of vaccination for all ages, especially as the summer travel season approaches.
“With the way that we’re seeing the measles, we are recommending to vaccinate those adults that may not remember how many doses of vaccines they received, or maybe they didn’t receive any doses of the vaccine, and those are the ones that we’re seeing that are coming back positive for measles. Those are the ones that we want to target,” he said.
Texas overall has seen a slight decline in vaccination rates for measles in recent years, but Ocaranza noted that El Paso has seen a recent uptick in vaccinations amid the outbreak.
For more information on the vaccines and where to get vaccinated, visit here.
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