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Measles cases in Texas put SE New Mexico at risk, health officials say
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Residents in Southeast New Mexico are at heightened risk of measles following reports of two cases of the viral disease in Texas near Lea County, state health officials warned Monday.
Most at risk are people who travel across state lines into Texas, the New Mexico Department of Health said.
Health officials in Texas announced Friday that two unvaccinated school-age children from Gaines County, Texas, on the border with Lea County, had been hospitalized in Lubbock with the illness.
The Gaines County cases followed reports earlier in January of two cases in Harris County, which includes Houston, health officials in Lubbock said.
The Harris County cases were the first reports of measles in Texas since 2023.
Measles is a highly contagious disease but can be prevented by vaccines, said Dr. Miranda Durham, chief medical officer for the New Mexico Department of Health.
“Measles spreads easily and can linger in the air for hours after a person infected has left a room,” Durham said in a written statement issued Monday. “The Texas cases highlight the importance of making sure you and your children are up-to-date on the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.”
The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine has been shown to be highly effective in preventing measles, the agency said.
Vaccines are free for New Mexico children through the Vaccines for Children program. Children receive two doses: one at 12-months and one at 4 years old.
Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes, followed by a red spotted rash that usually starts on the head or face and spreads across the body.
