Measles cases decline in Texas but experts warn of growing threats in other states

The measles outbreak in Texas appears to be on the decline, although health officials on Saturday, May 24, 2025, warned of growing threats in other states.

Nationwide, the country is seeing elevated measles infections due to declining vaccination rates, making public health authorities wary of declaring victory too soon.

In Lubbock, Texas, no new cases have been reported in several days.

The local children’s hospital, which has also treated patients from neighboring Gaines County, currently has no measles-related hospitalizations.

“We’re really cautiously optimistic,” said Katherine Wells, Director of Lubbock Public Health.

However, she cautioned that a community must go 42 consecutive days without new infections before an outbreak is officially declared over.

Data from wastewater surveillance suggests infections may be declining in both Lubbock and El Paso, according to Anthony Maresso.

Maresso is a professor of molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine.

Maresso is part of a team monitoring wastewater pathogens across 15 Texas cities.

But he and Wells warned that this doesn’t mean the threat has passed.

“It only takes one person in a car who’s infectious to introduce it into another community,” Wells said, stressing the need for sustained public health efforts.

Texas reported six new measles cases on Friday, bringing the state’s 2025 total to 728.

Ninety-four people have been hospitalized so far, and two school-aged children have died from the virus.

The outbreak, initially concentrated in West Texas, has now spread to other states.

New Mexico confirmed 76 cases, including the measles-related death of an adult in March.

Kansas has seen 58 cases and Oklahoma 17, alongside isolated outbreaks in additional states.

The United States has now confirmed 1,024 measles cases in 2025, making this year the second-worst since the disease was declared eliminated nationally in 2000.

Experts believe the outbreak in West Texas may be slowing partly due to aggressive vaccination campaigns.

Also, they believe the decline is because many unvaccinated individuals have already been infected, limiting the virus’s reach.

While most cases involve children, about two-thirds of those infected in El Paso are adults.

Officials advise that anyone in outbreak zones who is uncertain about their vaccination status should receive a booster shot to reduce their risk.

Despite these public health warnings, misinformation continues to threaten vaccination efforts.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has publicly made several inaccurate claims about the measles vaccine.

At a Senate hearing on May 14, Senator Chris Murphy confronted Kennedy over comments he made on television and social media.

He accused him of undermining public confidence.

“You told the public that the vaccine wanes very quickly.

“You said the measles vaccine was never fully tested for safety and contains fetal debris,” Murphy said.

Kennedy responded, “All true,” to which Murphy replied, “None of that is true.”

Experts agree that such misinformation erodes public trust at a critical time.

Communities where vaccination rates have fallen below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity must act now to close the gap.

“The easiest thing you can do is just put out an educational campaign around closing the vaccine gap,” said Maresso.

“If we had vaccine coverage above 95%, we wouldn’t see these outbreaks.”

Wells added that many U.S. communities are vulnerable due to low immunization rates.

She emphasized that the summer travel season increases the risk of reintroducing measles from areas where it is still endemic.

“We see lots of people traveling internationally to places that might have endemic measles, that can reintroduce it into any vulnerable community across the United States,” she said.

Monitoring wastewater can serve as an early warning system, especially in communities with low vaccination rates.

Texas began funding this initiative through the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute (TEPHI).

TEPHI was established during the COVID-19 pandemic as a state-level equivalent to the CDC.

“We saw a signal for measles in the wastewater before the outbreak became public or made headlines,” Maresso explained.

This advance notice helps alert public health officials that infections may already be spreading, even before clinical diagnoses are made.

Wells emphasized the importance of preparedness, urging local leaders to educate doctors, schools, and daycare centers about identifying measles symptoms.

She also highlighted the need for clear logistics around lab testing and specimen transport.

“You’re prepared, and it’s at the front of your mind, not sitting back in some dusty textbook,” she said.

However, all of this requires reliable funding.

Public health departments have long operated with limited resources, and recent cuts have made the situation worse.

“There was a clawback of the COVID funding available to local health departments,” Wells said.

With other federal funds also uncertain, she expressed concern about the ability of local agencies to respond to measles and future outbreaks.

“It’s so important for us to have local public health departments that can respond,” she warned.

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