The measles outbreak continues to spread in the South Plains region of Texas, as the state’s health department released the latest numbers on Tuesday, March 11.
A total of 223 cases have been confirmed since late January, according to a statement from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
That is an increase from 198 cases as of Friday, March 7.
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Twenty-nine of the patients have been hospitalized, health officials stated.
The majority of cases (98) have affected children between 5 and 17 years of age, followed by 76 cases among young children 4 and under.
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Thirty-eight cases have been reported among adults 18 and up, and 11 cases are still pending age.
Only five of the cases affected patients who received at least one dose of the measles vaccine. Eighty patients were unvaccinated and 138 had an unknown vaccination status, per the DSHS.
There has been one measles-related fatality, a “school-aged” child in Lubbock who was not vaccinated, according to a Feb. 26 report.
“Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities,” the health department said in its statement.
“DSHS is working with local health departments to investigate the outbreak.”
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel previously shared with Fox News Digital that measles is highly contagious.
“There is a 90% chance you will get it if you are unvaccinated and step into a room where someone with measles was two hours before,” he cautioned.
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The best way to prevent measles is to receive the two-dose measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and various experts.
