Completely preventable misery in rural Texas as measle cases double in <a week with 13 kids hospitalized so far

Most cases are unvaccinated school-age kids. Ear infections and diarrhea are common complications, but encephalitis and death can follow as well--and it's a wretched experience for kids and parents.

An entirely-preventable measles outbreak in rural West Texas is sliding out of control with no end in sight. Most cases are in school-age kids, and 13 have been hospitalized. All are unvaccinated against measles, which is one of the most contagious viruses in the world. While the official case count is 49 (from only 24 a week ago), there are likely 200 to 300 untested people infected not yet part of the tally. Symptoms show up late after exposure—not for 7 to 14 days—so people who are infected don’t yet know it and expose others—why cases multiple exponentially once the contagion takes hold.

Symptoms make kids miserable, including high fevers (>104°), cough, a runny nose and conjunctivitis. Two to three days after the first symptoms, tiny white spots may appear in the mouth, followed in a couple more days by a red, blotchy eruption on the face. That spreads to the rest of the body, with mild to moderate itching that can be worse at night—in all, more than a week of misery per child as the disease slowly rolls through the family.

Ten percent of kids get diarrhea and/or an (also miserable) ear infection, with its own potential side effects. About 20% of people who get measles—adult or children—end up hospitalized, and as many as one of of 20 kids gets pneumonia. Encephalitis—leading to convulsions and intellectual disability—and death are less common but definitely associated with measles outbreaks. Read more here about symptoms and complications. Unvaccinated kids <5, adults >20, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are most at risk. Miscarriage can follow infection in pregnancy.

In the meantime, the surgeon general of neighboring Louisiana—apparently looking for worse public health outcomes than the state’s existing rank of #48—announced today that Louisiana “will no longer promote mass vaccination.”