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Curry County child confirmed with measles bringing state total to 71 cases
Vials of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine are displayed. Two doses are 97% effective against measles.
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The first case of measles in Curry County was confirmed Wednesday in a child too young to receive a vaccination, New Mexico Department of Health officials reported.
The Curry County case and three new cases in Lea County brings to 71 the total number of New Mexico measles cases in five counties. The other counties are Chaves, Doña Ana, Eddy and Lea.
Vaccination is the most effective way of preventing the highly infectious disease, said Dr. Miranda Durham, chief medical officer for the state Department of Health.
“Seeing measles in a new county underscores the need to remain vigilant and get vaccinated,” Durham said in a statement. “It also serves as a reminder the measles outbreak in New Mexico isn’t over. We urge New Mexicans to make sure their vaccination records are up to date.”
Two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine are 97% effective against disease.
More than 23,000 New Mexico adults and children received an MMR vaccine from Feb. 1 to May 3, up from about 13,000 during the same period in 2024.
The New Mexico outbreak coincides with a larger outbreak in Texas, where 702 cases have been confirmed since late January, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported Tuesday.
More than half the Texas cases are centered in Gaines County, which borders Lea County.
Two Texas school-age children have died as a result of the outbreak. One deceased Lea County resident was confirmed to have had measles in March.
At least 2,500 known measles cases have been reported throughout North America. The disease has spread rapidly in Chihuahua state, Mexico, which has had at least 786 cases since mid-February.
