New Mexico measles outbreak spreads to Chaves County

New Mexico health officials announced that the measles outbreak has reached a third county in the state’s southeastern corner Tuesday.

The state Department of Health reported that an unvaccinated child, whose city and age were not identified, has been diagnosed with measles in Chaves County.

New Mexico had confirmed 56 cases of measles as of Tuesday, of which 53 are located in Lea County. Eddy County, which has two cases, and Chaves County are both adjacent to Lea County.

Of those 56 cases, 27 were confirmed among patients 18 years of age and older, while 16 were between 5 and 17 years old and 13 were 4 years old or younger.

The viral illness is highly contagious and spreads through the air. Common symptoms include a runny nose, fever, cough, red eyes and a distinctive rash. The infectious period can begin four days before the rash appears and continue for four days after that, the DOH said.

Measles also carries risks of complications such as pneumonia and swelling of the brain. Two children in Texas have died of measles this year, the first to succumb to the disease since 2015. A deceased New Mexico resident tested positive for measles after their death earlier this year, but the cause of death has not been reported. Two measles patients in New Mexico have been hospitalized.

“A new case in a new county — and cases in now 22 U.S. states — is a reminder that measles is a highly contagious virus,” the health department’s chief medical officer, Dr. Miranda Durham, stated in a news release. “It also underscores how the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine is the best way to prevent measles.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that a single dose of MMR vaccine is 93% effective against measles, while the recommended second dose raises the efficacy to 97% and offers lifetime protection.

In 2000, the disease was declared effectively eliminated in the United States after vaccines curbed its spread, but decreasing vaccination rates in recent years, along with misinformation about vaccine safety, have raised alarm among health experts about a potential resurgence.

Lea County, where most of New Mexico’s cases are located, borders Gaines County in Texas, where 328 cases of measles have been identified to date by the Texas Health Department.

Ten of New Mexico’s public health offices are offering daily walk-in MMR vaccinations and vaccination events around the state.

Margarita Zavala, a southeast region epidemiologist at the New Mexico Department of Health, told the Journal local health offices were seeing growing vaccine uptake. The DOH reported that 3,269 vaccine doses were delivered in southeast New Mexico between Feb. 1 and April 3, more than doubling the region’s vaccinations during the same period in 2024.

“People are becoming more aware of it and being proactive in protecting themselves, making sure they have received their vaccinations and what their status is,” Zavala said.

Statewide participation has also increased over last year, with 16,455 residents receiving the vaccine from February to April.

The department has established a bilingual helpline with nurses who answer questions about measles and vaccinations at 1-833-796-8773.