TEXAS — A measles case outside of the West Texas outbreak has been reported in the Dallas area, while another unconfirmed measles case was reported by a Central Texas school district.
The alleged cases come a day after an unvaccinated child died from measles in Lubbock, the first measles death in the U.S. since 2015.
The confirmed case is in an adult resident of Rockwall County, east of Dallas, according to officials. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) was notified on Feb. 25, Dirk Perritt with the Rockwall County Health Authority said Wednesday.
Another case, that was later dubbed a "false alarm" by DSHS, was reported on Thursday by the Mexia Independent School District, an area east of Waco.
Mexia ISD said it was in communication with the Texas Department of Health and Human Services to receive guidance on recommended precautions and procedures for sanitizing, and out of an abudance of caution, it was closing its schools on Friday to do a comprehensive cleaning.
Spectrum News reached out to Texas DSHS about Mexia ISD's post, and a department spokesperson said, "We don’t have any confirmed measles cases in the Mexia area. We've contacted the district to ensure they're aware. This seems to be a false alarm due to miscommunication."
Mexia ISD later addressed the confusion saying that on Thursday morning a district nurse received an email from a person within the disitrct that a student had been "diagnosed with measles," which led to district officials alerting the public.
The nurse later reached out to the treating physician who clarified that the student was diagnosed with rubella, which is also known as German measles. Rubella is a highly contagious virus that can cause a mild rash, low fever and other symptoms.
The case in Rockwall County isn't believed to be connected to the measles outbreak in West Texas, which rose to 124 cases across nine counties this week, as well as nine cases in neighboring New Mexico. Eighteen people in Texas have been hospitalized as a result of the outbreak.
Those who had been in direct contact with the Rockwall County resident have been notified of the exposure, Perritt said.
Perritt said the health authority will continue to update the community with developments.
“We will continue to keep the community informed and work closely with local healthcare providers and DSHS. We appreciate everyone’s efforts to keep Rockwall County healthy and safe,” Perritt said.
Rockwall County is home to over 130,000 residents.
A measles exposure in South-Central Texas was reported in late February when a Gaines County resident with measles traveled to college campuses and restaurants in San Marcos and San Antonio over Valentine’s Day weekend.
In late January, the Houston Health Department reported two cases of measles in Harris County. The two infected adults were from the same household and got the virus from international travel. They were both not vaccinated. They were the first reported measles cases in Houston since 2018.
Doctors recommend the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to avoid a measles infection. It is a two-dose vaccine that is typically given to young children.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the vaccine is 97% effective against measles.
The CDC says vaccination rates among U.S. kindergartners has decreased over the past few years from 95.2% during the 2019-2020 school year to 92.7% during the 2023-2024 school year.
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