NewsDesk @bactiman63

Texas state health officials report a confirmed case of measles in a resident of Hood County. The patient is a young child. The child had no history of travel to an area where measles is spreading and no known exposure to a person with measles. The child has been treated and is recovering.

Measles/CDC

The last confirmed measles case in Texas was in 2019. Travel related outbreaks of measles accounted for 23 cases that year.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. The measles virus can remain infectious in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area. The illness usually starts a week or two after someone is exposed, with symptoms like a high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. A few days later, the telltale rash breaks out as flat, red spots on the face and then spreads down the neck and trunk to the rest of the body. A person is contagious about four days before the rash appears to four days after. People with measles should stay home from work or school during that period.

Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube

The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of the measles-containing vaccine, which is primarily administered as a combination of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. DSHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend children receive one dose at 12 to 15 months of age and another at 4 to 6 years. Children too young to be vaccinated or who have only had one dose of vaccine are more likely to get infected and more likely to have severe complications if they do get sick.

According to the CDC, a total of 16 measles cases were reported by 11 jurisdictions as of June 8.