State and local officials on Thursday confirmed a measles case in Brewster County, the first to appear in the Big Bend region since a measles outbreak began earlier this year in West Texas near the New Mexico border.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said Thursday afternoon the case was directly linked to the ongoing West Texas outbreak, which has grown to more than 700 cases since it began in Gaines County late January.
The case was not initially linked to the outbreak when it was first confirmed Thursday morning, but DSHS spokesperson said further investigation revealed information needed to establish that connection.
The case was identified in an Alpine man in his 60s who “probably was vaccinated, but not sufficiently,” said Brewster County Judge Greg Henington, the county’s top elected official.
Henington described the measles case as “extremely mild” and said the man may have already recovered from it.
“The guy went in thinking he had a rash, and they did a blood test and it’s measles,” he said.
The man lives in Alpine and travels a lot because of his job in the oil field, Henington said. Brewster County – which does not have a local health department – is not currently involved in any contact tracing efforts, he said.
A spokesperson for Big Bend Regional Medical Clinic, the region’s main hospital, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Big Bend Regional Hospital District, a separate public health entity, also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
DSHS said the Brewster County case would appear Friday on the the department's list of counties with confirmed measles cases.
The department says fewer than 10 of those cases are “estimated to be actively infectious.” Just 15 identified measles cases had not been tied to the outbreak as of Thursday.
Last Friday, Texas reported nine new measles cases, the lowest number since the outbreak began, according to The Texas Tribune. Seven Texas counties – most of them in West Texas – remain on the state’s “designated outbreak counties” list. Counties are removed from that list after going 42 days with no new cases.
Public health officials say the best way to prevent measles is to get vaccinated. The state health department says two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine prevents 97% of measles infections.
This story has been updated.
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