Texas measles outbreak reaches 90 cases; 9 cases in New Mexico

Other affected counties in Texas include Dawson (6 cases); Ector (1); Lubbock (1); Lynn (1); Terry (20); and Yoakum (4).

In Texas, the majority of the cases continue to be in children: 26 are in infants and young children ages 0 to 4, and 51 are between ages 5 and 17. All but five cases have been in unvaccinated people. Sixteen people (roughly 18 percent) have been hospitalized.

In New Mexico, there have been no hospitalizations, and five of the nine cases are in adults. The other four cases were between the ages of 5 and 17.

Given low vaccination rate in the area and the contagiousness of measles, health officials expect the outbreak to continue to grow. Measles is one of the most infectious viruses known; 90 percent of people who are unvaccinated and exposed will fall ill. The disease is marked by high fevers and a telltale rash and can cause severe complications in some, including younger children.

In the US, about 20 percent of people with measles are typically hospitalized. Five percent develop pneumonia, and up to 3 in 1,000 die of the infection. In rare cases, measles can cause a fatal disease of the central nervous system later in life called Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Measles also wipes out immune responses to other infections (a phenomenon known as immune amnesia), making people vulnerable to various illnesses.