United States: The escalating measles outbreak sweeping across western Texas has surged to a staggering 400 confirmed cases, with an alarming 73 new infections emerging within the past 72 hours, as per freshly released data on Friday.
A vast majority of those afflicted are either unvaccinated or their immunization records remain unverified, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). The contagion’s severity has led to the hospitalization of at least 41 individuals.
A demographic breakdown of the cases highlights that children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 constitute the largest proportion at 164 cases, closely followed by infants and young children under the age of 4, who account for 131 cases, the data reveals, according to ABC News.
This outbreak coincides with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) verifying 483 measles cases this year across at least 19 states, spanning from Alaska to Vermont, encompassing regions such as California, Florida, Maryland, Ohio, and Texas, among others.
Experts caution that the reported numbers likely underrepresent the true magnitude of the outbreak due to inevitable delays in states relaying case data to federal authorities.
Meanwhile, troubling reports indicate that some unvaccinated children hospitalized with measles in Texas are exhibiting signs of vitamin A toxicity, a development linked to misguided self-medication attempts.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., alongside other vaccine skeptics, has vocally endorsed vitamin A as a purported remedy during this outbreak. During an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News earlier this month, Kennedy asserted that HHS was actively administering vitamin A to measles patients, contending that the supplement could “dramatically” curtail measles-related fatalities.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) does advocate the administration of vitamin A as adjunctive therapy for individuals already afflicted with measles—primarily to replenish depleted levels and mitigate complications such as ocular damage and potential blindness—scientific consensus underscores that it neither prevents infection nor combats the virus directly, as reported ABC News.
Covenant Children’s Hospital, which has been at the forefront of treating measles patients in Texas, disclosed to ABC News that numerous parents appear to have preemptively administered vitamin A to their unvaccinated children in an attempt to ward off infection. Some of these children are now manifesting symptoms of vitamin A toxicity.
Preliminary laboratory screenings have identified fewer than 10 pediatric patients exhibiting abnormal liver enzyme levels, indicative of possible vitamin A overdose, according to Covenant Children’s.
Vitamin A toxicity arises when an individual ingests excessive quantities of the nutrient, potentially culminating in grave health repercussions, including hepatic and renal dysfunction.
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC unequivocally affirm that immunization remains the most efficacious safeguard against measles.
The CDC’s current vaccination guidelines stipulate that individuals should receive two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine—the initial dose between 12 to 15 months of age and the subsequent booster between ages 4 and 6. Empirical data suggests that a single dose confers approximately 93 percent immunity, while the full two-dose regimen elevates protection to 97 percent. For most vaccinated adults, booster doses are deemed unnecessary.
State health records indicate that Gaines County, the epicenter of Texas’ outbreak, has witnessed a precipitous increase in vaccine exemptions over the past decade.
In 2013, roughly 7.5 percent of kindergarteners in the county had parents or guardians who sought exemptions for at least one vaccine. By 2023, that figure had ballooned to over 17.5 percent, positioning Gaines County among the regions with the highest vaccine exemption rates in Texas, per state health statistics.
Among the nationwide measles cases documented by the CDC, approximately 97 percent involve individuals who are either unvaccinated or whose immunization status remains uncertain, according to agency reports.
Of those infected, 1 percent had received a single MMR dose, while 2 percent had completed the recommended two-dose regimen, CDC data indicates, as per ABC News.
The resurgence of measles, a disease once on the brink of eradication, underscores the perilous consequences of declining vaccination rates and misinformation-fueled hesitancy. As public health officials scramble to contain the outbreak, the imperative for widespread immunization has never been more urgent.