What happened
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Monday officially declared an end to the state's deadly measles outbreak, though the vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada. The Texas outbreak, centered in western Gaines County, led to the deaths of two unvaccinated children and an unvaccinated man in New Mexico.
Who said what
Texas quashed the virus "through a comprehensive outbreak response" including "testing, vaccination, disease monitoring" and education, said DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford. It was a "bittersweet" victory for local officials as it "did not appear to end" because of a surge in vaccinations, The New York Times said. Rather, it "seemed that the virus had ripped through the community" until it "ran out of vulnerable people to infect."
With 1,356 confirmed cases nationwide, the U.S. is "having its worst year for measles in more than three decades, as childhood vaccination rates against the virus decline," The Associated Press said. At least 718 of the 762 confirmed cases in Texas were in patients "who are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccine status," the Fort Worth Star-Telegram said.
What next?
"The end of this outbreak does not mean the threat of measles is over," the Texas health department said. Along with the U.S. cases, an outbreak in Mexico linked to Gaines County has "ballooned to 3,854 cases and 13 deaths," and Canada has about 4,000 cases, the AP said. "It only just takes a traveler" coming into a susceptible community "to start a new outbreak," said Director of Lubbock Public Health Katherine Wells.
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