A measles outbreak that began in northwest Texas last month has now infected 90 people, with most cases occurring among unvaccinated individuals, according to state data released on Friday.
Health officials warned that the number is likely to increase.
At least 77 of the cases involve children, while 10 are adults, and data on the remaining three remains unavailable.
Sixteen patients have been hospitalised with the highly contagious virus, which can cause serious complications such as pneumonia and brain swelling.
Only five of the confirmed cases involve vaccinated individuals. The rest were either unvaccinated or their immunisation status is unknown.
Texas law allows vaccine exemptions for personal and religious beliefs, and the outbreak’s epicentre, Gaines County, is home to a large Mennonite community, which has historically shown vaccine hesitancy.
The outbreak coincides with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure as US health secretary, a position granting him significant influence over immunisation policy.
Kennedy, a known vaccine sceptic, has falsely claimed a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, despite extensive scientific debunking.
The US reported 285 measles cases in 2023, while the worst recent outbreak occurred in 2019 when 1,274 cases—mostly in Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and New Jersey—marked the highest national total in decades.
Although measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, outbreaks persist due to declining childhood vaccination rates, exacerbated by misinformation and distrust in health institutions.
Before the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963, the disease infected millions of Americans annually.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has postponed a scheduled CDC vaccine advisory panel meeting, initially set for February 26-28, which was expected to discuss vaccines for meningococcal disease, influenza, and chikungunya.
The CDC cited the need to accommodate public comment but has not announced a new date.
