Measles is not often observed in the United States, but the Americans care more about the avoidable virus because cases continue to increase in rural regions of western Texas. Last week, an unaccompanied child died in the epidemic, which involves more than 150 cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States said that the last death of the measles confirmed in the United States was in 2015. The agency published a message on X saying that “the CDC is on the ground of the TX”, indicating that the State had requested federal aid to investigate and control the epidemic. This is what you need to know about measles and how to protect yourself.

Besides Texas, which has had the most measles of all American states this year, there are also nine cases in New Mexico. The State Health Department said that there was no direct link with the Texas epidemic. Cases of measles have also been reported in Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The CDC defines an epidemic as three or more linked cases. Three of the measles clusters qualified as epidemics in 2025, the agency said.

In the United States, cases and epidemics are generally attributed to someone who has taken the disease abroad. It can then spread, especially in weak vaccination communities. It is a respiratory disease caused by one of the most contagious viruses in the world. The virus is suspended in the air and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. This most often affects children. “On average, an infected person can infect around 15 other people,” said Scott Weaver, director of the Center for Excellence for the Global Virus Network, an international coalition.

“There are only a few viruses that are even getting closer to this.” The measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a strong fever, a flowing nose, a cough, a red and aqueous and a rash. The eruption generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, starting in the form of flat red spots on the face, then propagating with the neck, the mouth, the arms, the legs and the feet. When the eruption appears, the fever can increase by more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.

There is no specific treatment for measles, so doctors are generally trying to relieve symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients at ease. People who have had a living room cannot get it, say health officials. Current complications include otitis and diarrhea. But about 1 out of 5 non -vaccinated Americans who obtain measles are hospitalized, said the CDC.

Pregnant women who have not obtained the vaccine can give birth prematurely or have a birth weight. Among children with measles, about 1 in 20 develops pneumonia, said CDC, and approximately one in 1000 suffers from swelling of the brain called encephalitis – which can cause convulsions, deafness or intellectual deficiency. It is fatal “in a little less than 1% of cases, mainly in children,” said Weaver, who works in the medical branch of the University of Texas in Galveston.

“Children develop the most serious illness. The cause of death in this type of case is generally pneumonia and complications of pneumonia. The best way to avoid measles is to obtain the vaccine against.Health professionals are sometimes tested for antibodies against measles and therefore the necessary boosters, said Weaver – even if they have already had both standard doses as a child.

Adults having “presumed evidence of immunity” generally do not need measles strokes now, said the CDC. The criteria include the written documentation of adequate vaccination earlier in life, laboratory confirmation of past infection or birth before 1957, when most people were likely to be naturally infected. People with documentation on the reception of a direct measles vaccine in the 1960s do not need to be revaccinated, added the CDC. However, those in the shelter before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine of measles made from a “killed” virus – or people who do not know what type they have obtained – should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.

Weaver said that people at high risk of infection who obtained the blows many years ago could consider obtaining a booster if they lived in an area with an epidemic. These may include family members living with someone who has measles or those particularly vulnerable to respiratory diseases due to underlying medical conditions. “I don’t think everyone has to go to their doctor at the moment if they received two doses when they were children,” he said. “If people simply get standard vaccination, none of this would happen.”

Source

https://www.lex18.com/news/measles-is-popping-up-in-the-us-heres-how-to-avoid-one-of-the-worlds-most-contagious-viruses#:~:text=The%20best%20way%20to%20avoid,got%E2%80%9D%20measles%2C%20Weaver%20said.

https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/measles-is-one-of-the-worlds-most-contagious-viruses-heres-what-to-know-and-how-to-avoid-it/118622765