Four updates:
1. A majority of cases have involved children and adolescents 17 and younger in Texas’ South Plains region. All but four cases involved individuals who were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccine status, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. At present, 13 people have required hospitalization.
2. Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas, has implemented measles screenings for all patients and visitors, effective Feb. 21, “to protect the most vulnerable of our patients, staff and community,” the hospital said in a Facebook post. The screenings come after the first measles case was confirmed in the hospital’s county. Individuals will be assessed for virus symptoms at all entrances across the hospital, emergency department, women’s center, urgent care sites and outpatient clinics.
3. The New Mexico Department of Health has reported three measles cases in Lea County, which borders Texas’ Gaines County, where 45 cases have been confirmed. The New Mexico cases are suspected to be connected to the Texas outbreak, though the link is unconfirmed, health officials said. Residents with measles visited Nor-Lea Hospital’s emergency department and outpatient clinic in Lovington, N.M., on Feb. 10-11, prompting officials to warn of potential exposure.
4. The outbreak represents the largest Texas has seen since 1992, when 1,097 cases were reported, according to the Houston Chronicle.
