The Texas Department of State Health Services has confirmed 279 cases of measles across the state since the end of January. DSHS posts updates twice a week, and the update Tuesday included 20 new cases.
Most of the cases are near the New Mexico border with 191 in Gaines County, 36 in Terry County and 11 each in Dawson and Yoakum Counties. No other county has more than 10.
But closer to North Texas, five cases have been confirmed in Lamar County along the Red River northeast of Dallas.
One case has been confirmed in Rockwall County, but the Department of State Health Services said that was not connected to the outbreak in West Texas.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, county health departments said they were reaching out to school districts, daycares, homeschooling groups, and churches to "try to reach pockets of unvaccinated people."
"You can imagine sometimes we're greeted with open arms, and sometimes there's some hesitancy," Denton County Public Health Director Matt Richardson said. "We struggle with that, honestly."
Richardson said outreach can help people learn about the risk of measles and ask questions about the vaccine.
Of the 279 cases of measles reported in Texas, the Department of State Health Services said all but two cases were people who were unvaccinated. The other two cases were people who had received both doses of the vaccine after they were exposed to the virus but before symptoms started.
In a statement, DSHS said, "the best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a vaccine against measles, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles."
A list of symptoms, tips for prevention and locations of vaccine providers is available here.
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