Measles outbreak soars past combined 500 cases in Texas and other states

The measles outbreak centered in the South Plains region soared past a combined 500 cases in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma on Friday, according to health officials.

Texas has seen 481 measles cases amid the outbreak that began in late January, according to the latest update from the state’s Department of State Health Services. Fifty-six people have been hospitalized and one unvaccinated child has died, the first measles death in the United States in a decade.

The outbreak continues to be concentrated in children who have not received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or whose vaccination status is unknown.

Health officials in New Mexico and Oklahoma have said cases in those states are also connected to the Texas outbreak.

New Mexico reported 54 cases on Friday, while Oklahoma reported 10. New Mexico has also reported one suspected measles death, an unvaccinated adult who tested positive for the virus after dying.

The latest DSHS update comes one day after Harris County health officials reported that a child with no recent travel history tested positive for measles. The testing was performed by a commercial laboratory and must be verified by DSHS. The case is not included in the DSHS update on Friday.

Texas has reported a total of six measles cases in 2025 that are not connected to the South Plains outbreak, including three in Houston and one in Fort Bend County. Most of those cases are associated with international travel, and they are not included in the Texas outbreak total of 481.

What the data shows

The latest update from the DSHS includes 59 new cases, an increase of nearly 14% since the agency's last update on Tuesday.

Thirty-five of those cases are in Gaines County, which remains the epicenter of the outbreak. The small county along the New Mexico border has reported 315 cases over the past few months, more than 65% of the total in Texas.

Six new cases were reported in both Lubbock County, increasing its total to 33, and Dawson County, growing its total to 20.

Terry County reported two new cases to increase its total to 43, the second-highest in Texas.

Seven other counties reported between one and three new cases on Friday. Each of them had previously seen at least one case associated with the outbreak.

Of the 481 cases in Texas, 157 have been in children younger than 5 years old and 180 have been in children and teens between 5 and 17, according to the DSHS.

Only 10 cases have been in people who received at least one dose of MMR vaccine prior to an infection.

What to know about measles

Measles is highly contagious. Up to nine in 10 people exposed to the virus will become sick if they are not vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The virus spreads through coughing and sneezing. It can live on surfaces or in the air for up to two hours, so someone can be infected without coming into direct contact with a person who has measles.

READ MORE: Northwest Harris County child with no travel history tests positive for measles

Health officials have stressed the importance of the MMR vaccine amid the outbreak. One dose is 93% effective at preventing an infection and two doses are 97% effective, according to the CDC.

Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 thanks to widespread use of the MMR vaccine, but a rise in nonmedical vaccine exemptions among schoolchildren has coincided with a resurgence of the virus.

Gaines County has one of the highest nonmedical vaccine exemption rates in Texas, with 13.6% of children in kindergarten through grade 12 skipping at least one routine childhood vaccine during the 2023-24 school year, according to DSHS data.