More US states report measles cases as the Texas outbreak spreads, surpassing last year’s total amid misinformation and hesitation about vaccines.
The Texas outbreak could take a year to go under control, health officials said. Meanwhile, it could spread to more states. However, the parents of a six-year-old girl who died of measles in Texas are opposed to measles vaccinations as misinformation continues to rise, including those such as US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“I didn’t expect to see this measles revival in 2025,” said Katherine Wells, director of Lubbock Public Health. “And I didn’t know it was in my backyard either.”
On Thursday, several other states reported measles updates. Ohio reported its first case of 2025, and Maryland announced two new lawsuits. Both states link cases to international travel. Alabama also announced that a child vaccinated with measles has traveled the state, but Kansas confirmed eight cases of measles among children this month.
The incident has also been confirmed in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
“Measles is one of the most infectious diseases in the world,” Lucia Donatelli, chief of the Maryland Vaccination Center, told reporters Thursday evening.
“It’s very susceptible to infection as people can stay in the air for up to two hours after leaving the room. And the best way to prevent measles is through vaccination.”
The rise in international cases comes shortly after the US government was fired and left thousands of USAID employees and contractors. Many of them worked in countries with a high proportion of measles.
However, highly contagious viruses are also on the rise in the US.
Last year there were 285 cases of measles reported in the United States. So far, there have been 378 confirmed cases in the first few months of 2025.
Approximately 309 of these cases were in Texas, with 40 hospitalizations and the death of one six-year-old girl who was not vaccinated from measles.
The outbreak spread to New Mexico, where 42 cases were confirmed, two hospitalizations, and one death in an unvaccinated adult. It also spread to Oklahoma, and announced four possible cases.
Authorities suspect that the true number of cases is high. Usually, there are 1-2 deaths per 1,000 cases. Underreporting “is not the point where we know where all cases are,” Wells says.
Families with multiple cases cannot test all of them. And “I have a lot of hesitation in interacting with the medical community,” Wells says.
The majority of cases are among those who have not been vaccinated.
“There are a lot of vaccine hesitancy in Gaines County, and this is where most of the incidents are there,” Wells says. There is social pressure on the incorporation of vaccinations and misinformation over the past 20 years, she says.
The parents of the deceased child appeared on video on Monday along with Child Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization previously led by Kennedy.
“We definitely don’t take MMR,” the girl’s mother said, referring to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. “Measles wasn’t that bad. They got through it,” she said of her other four children.
“It’s not as bad as the media makes it,” his father said through the translator. The parents fought back tears through the interview.
Kennedy avoided directly recommending vaccinations during this outbreak and also promoted alternative treatments. He also suggests that Texas children are unhealthy or malnourished despite medical reports that she was healthy and had no underlying conditions.
Health departments in cities like Lubbock, where hospitalized children with measles are being treated, have created mass vaccination clinics where anyone can get the MMR vaccine for free.
“We’re trying to remove all the barriers to getting vaccinated,” Wells says. “And we’re working more on the message from trustworthy leaders about the importance of vaccination.”
But so far, Lubbock Clinic has only given around 300 vaccines than usual over the past few weeks.
Without widespread vaccinations, the outbreak could last another year, she says. Other recent outbreaks have occurred in densely populated areas, but these cases have spread to New Mexico and Oklahoma, as well as 11 Texas counties.
“We have a huge, vast population that keeps watching measles pop up,” Wells says. “It takes a lot of time to change the perception of vaccines and then vaccinate people and then reach the point where there are no vulnerable people left to find measles.”
From the first two cases, Wells knew, “This is going to get bigger.” Two children admitted to hospital in Lubbock tested positive, meaning there was more community spread happening under the radar.
Now she’s worried about anyone who will stop at one of the main rest areas along the Texas highways and spread measles far beyond the state.
“It’s how easy it is to infectious measles,” Wells says. And outbreaks can fire anywhere where vaccination rates are low.
In Ohio, unvaccinated residents tested positive for measles after an international trip, according to the state Department of Health.
Maryland officials also published two more cases of measles in unvaccinated international travelers. They flew to Dulles International Airport on March 5th. This is the same day as previous events in Maryland, but at different times.
These cases are not related to previous cases or measles outbreaks in New Mexico, Texas or Oklahoma, Maryland health officials say.
These patients, who traveled internationally together, visited several locations throughout the Washington, DC area. This included four visits to the healthcare centre, trips to the metro, shuttle buses at the national airport and car dealers over 12 days.
If a patient suspects that he is exposed to measles, care should be promptly requested, but it is extremely important to notify the health care provider of potential measles cases to ensure that others in the facility do not get sick.
“Call first and tell your provider where you are going and tell them where you are going and you are coming in because you may be exposed to measles,” says Donatelli.
“That way the provider can go ahead and make the right arrangements, ensure they are viewed safely and quickly, while also protecting others.”
