This rolling article was last updated Wednesday, April 30 .
The West Texas measles outbreak has spread to the borderlands, with 38 cases confirmed in El Paso County as of Wednesday, April 30. There have also been 14 measles cases in the neighboring municipality of Juárez, Chihuahua and one case in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, according to the data from each state’s health department.
The number of cases in Chihuahua has now exceeded cases in Texas. The surge in measles infections led Mexico to release a U.S. travel alert and launch a vaccination campaign in public locations.
The highest numbers of confirmed measles infections this year are concentrated in Gaines County, Texas near Lubbock, where the outbreak began, and Cuauhtémoc municipality, Chihuahua in Mexico. The two areas have a shared history through their Mennonite communities, which have low vaccination rates, but the outbreak has since leaped to other communities with undervaccinated pockets.
Total measles cases statewide, per most recent data:
- Texas: 663
- New Mexico: 66
- Chihuahua: 713
More than 80 people in Texas, and three people in El Paso, have been hospitalized over the course of the outbreak. Based on rash onset, fewer than 10 of Texas’ current cases are active infections, according to the Texas Department of Health Service, which updates its dashboard every Tuesday and Friday morning. The state is also tracking measles cases that are not linked to the outbreak.
El Paso health officials no longer send news releases about possible measles exposure locations and times, but Health Director Vinny Taneja said in an April 30 email the department plans to update its own dashboard with this information.
An infected person is contagious four days prior and four days after rash appearance. Symptoms can turn into more serious complications including pneumonia and brain swelling, City-County Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza shared during a measles update to county commissioners April 14.
At least four people have died with measles during this outbreak, including a 31-year-old unvaccinated man from Ascensión, Chihuahua who died in Juárez, Mexican news outlets reported. The others were two unvaccinated school-aged children from Gaines County with no underlying health conditions and an unvaccinated adult from Lea County, New Mexico.
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Where to get measles vaccine in El Paso
Amid a Texas measles outbreak that claimed a child’s life, here’s how to get the vaccine in El Paso.
The El Paso Department of Public Health announced April 30 it expanded hours to its Northeast community clinic to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., for people seeking free measles vaccines.
El Paso’s first measles case this year was reported at a Fort Bliss health clinic. Ysleta Independent School District, which created its own dashboard, also identified three of El Paso’s early measles cases at three different high schools: Bel Air, Hanks and Eastwood. A person with measles also visited Andress High School in Northeast El Paso April 23, according to a letter the health department sent parents and guardians.
Health guidelines require schools with measles cases to immediately exclude all children if they are over the age of 4 and do not have two documented doses of the MMR vaccine. Unvaccinated children, including those with vaccine exemptions, may not return until 21 days after the school’s last exposure.
What to know about measles in El Paso
What is measles and how do you prevent it?
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that spreads when people inhale infectious aerosols or droplets. Two doses of the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella is 97% effective at preventing infection.
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Measles prevention: What to know about vitamin A, booster shots, infant vaccines, more
El Paso and Texas health officials answer common questions about measles protection.
What is the vaccination rate in El Paso?
About 98% of El Paso County residents are vaccinated against measles, according to city officials. A community is best protected with an immunization rate above 95%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
School vaccine exemptions are increasing in El Paso, however. About 96% of El Paso kindergarteners were vaccinated against measles last school year, which is below pre-pandemic level.
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As West Texas measles outbreak spreads, how protected are El Paso school children?
The worst measles outbreak in Texas in decades is occurring mostly among unvaccinated children.
What are the vaccination rates in areas bordering El Paso?
About 61% of adults in Doña Ana County are vaccinated or old enough to be immune from previous measles exposure, according to data from the New Mexico Department of Health. Only about 59% of people 18 and under in the county were up-to-date on their MMR vaccinations last year.
Most New Mexican adults do not have complete records in the Immunization Information System because centralized electronic immunization records did not exist when most adults were receiving childhood vaccinations and adult medical providers tend to report vaccinations less than pediatric providers, said David Morgan, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Health.
Diana Téllez Arévalo of the Juárez municipal health department referred El Paso Matters to the state for immunization data. El Paso Matters reached out to the Chihuahua Secretary of Health for vaccination rates in Juárez.
When was El Paso’s last measles outbreak?
El Paso’s last measles outbreak infected six people in 2019, starting with a woman who worked at Fort Bliss and a child who lived on post. El Paso’s first measles case in 2025 was also reported on Fort Bliss.
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El Paso, Juárez confirm first measles cases of 2025
Two measles cases have been reported at Fort Bliss and in the city of El Paso; Juárez reports four cases.
How did the 2025 Texas measles outbreak start and spread?
The measles outbreak began late January in Gaines County, about 250 miles away from El Paso. The county has one of the lowest immunization rates in Texas and health officials do not know how measles was first transmitted there. The outbreak then quickly spread to neighboring counties, mostly among people who are not vaccinated or have no known history of immunization against measles.
Measles spread in Chihuahua began in the spring after an unvaccinated Mennonite youth from the Texas outbreak area visited Mexico with their family, Norte Digital reported.
The post El Paso measles cases: Tracking Texas outbreak from the border appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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