The El Paso Department of Public Health has confirmed three more measles cases this year – just a few days after confirming the area’s first measles cases amid the West Texas and Panhandle outbreak.
The new cases involve a 1-year-old boy, a woman in her 30s and a man in his 40s, according to the news release sent Friday afternoon. The baby and woman were not vaccinated against measles while the vaccination history of the man is unknown.
The Ysleta Independent School District also emailed a letter Friday afternoon to parents and staff that one person with measles was identified at Bel Air High School in the Lower Valley. Tracy Garcia-Ramirez, a spokesperson for the school district, confirmed this case is part of the city’s tally.
City health officials have begun contact tracing and notified state health officials. The state’s measles dashboard, updated every Tuesday and Friday morning, currently shows three cases in El Paso County connected to the West Texas measles outbreak that has infected more than 540 people since late January.
The state estimates less than 30 of those people are actively infectious as of Friday morning, based on rash onset. People with measles are infectious for four days prior to and four days after rash onset.
El Paso health officials confirmed Tuesday night the first measles cases in the area, a 3-year-old boy and another child reported earlier by William Beaumont Army Medical Center, which is under the military’s jurisdiction. Neither child was vaccinated against measles.
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Just across the border, the Mexican state of Chihuahua has more than 260 cases of measles registered as of Thursday, including seven in Ciudad Juárez, El Diario reported. The Chihuahua measles spread began in March after a child from the undervaccinated Texas outbreak area traveled there.
About 98% of El Paso County residents are vaccinated against measles, according to the city’s news release. This rate is higher than the 95% threshold for herd immunity, but El Paso health officials remain concerned about unvaccinated pockets within the community.
“We urge residents to ensure they and their children are up to date with their MMR vaccinations,” said Dr. Hector Ocaranza, city-county health authority, in a news release. “Vaccination protects not just your family – it also reduces the risk of outbreaks and protects our most vulnerable neighbors.”
A person with measles can infect up to nine out of 10 people who are not protected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unprotected people include infants under one, pregnant people and severely immunocompromised people who cannot get the MMR vaccine. Unvaccinated people with no underlying health conditions can also suffer complications from measles, such as the two Texas children who have died during the outbreak.
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