EXPLAINER - Measles outbreak in US state of Texas has 124 confirmed cases, including 1 death

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, United States (AA) - One death has been reported from a measles outbreak in the US state of Texas with 124 cases confirmed as of Wednesday, mostly among unvaccinated children.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said 18 people have been hospitalized and the majority of cases are among unvaccinated children: 62 cases of children between 5 and 17 and 39 among children 4 and under. DSHS officials said that of those cases, only five children had been vaccinated.

- Epicenter of outbreak

The epicenter of the outbreak was pinpointed in Gaines County in West Texas where reports of the first case were issued Jan. 29.

State health officials, however, said the majority of the exposures have taken place in and around San Antonio and San Marcos, nearly 400 miles (643 kilometers) southeast of the original location.

The Houston Health Department also confirmed that two unvaccinated adults traveling together from the area of the original outbreak were diagnosed with measles.

- What is measles?

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness. Health officials said the virus is transmitted when an infected person coughs or sneezes and the infectious droplets are then spread airborne to other people. The virus can remain infectious for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area.

Symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes and usually begin a week or two after someone is exposed, according to DSHS officials.

A few days after, a trademark rash breaks out on the individual, where flat, red spots show up on the person's face, then spread to the neck and trunk to the rest of the body. A person is contagious about four days before and four days after the rash appears.

- What officials say?

Health officials said the best way to prevent the virus is to get immunized with two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, which is commonly administered in the US as a measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Vaccinated people can still contract the virus, but their symptoms are usually milder and they are less likely to spread the disease to others.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the DSHS recommend that children receive the first dose of the MMR vaccine between 12 and 15 months of age, with the second given between the ages of 4 and 6.

According to the CDC, 93 separate measles cases have been confirmed in eight states this year, including New Mexico (9 new cases), which borders Texas, as well as Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.