Though measles activity continues to decline in a large outbreak centered in West Texas, other states continue to report a small but steady stream of infections, including the first detections of the year from Iowa and Nebraska.
Also, other states added new cases to their totals, including North Dakota, Kansas, and Virginia.
Source unclear in Iowa, Nebraska cases
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said its recently confirmed case is the first since 2019. The patient is an unvaccinated adult from central Iowa.
Officials said a thorough investigation has been completed, but they did not say how the patient likely contracted the virus. The health department said it would reach out to the contacts it identified, but it added that widespread exposure isn’t anticipated.
Robert Kruse, MD, MPH, the state’s medical director, said, “We ask Iowans to review their vaccination records and medical records to ensure they are protected and to reach out to their healthcare provider if they have questions.”
Meanwhile, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services today reported a confirmed measles case involving an appropriately vaccinated child from Sheridan County who had no history of out-of-state travel. Sheridan County is in northwestern Nebraska.
Health officials reported possible exposures at two locations, a discount store in Rushville and a medical clinic in Gordon.
Texas and New Mexico see slight rises
In the large West Texas outbreaks, Texas and New Mexico each reported one new case today.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said the additional case brings the state’s outbreak total to 729 since late January. Though outbreak-linked cases have been reported from 34 counties, only 7 of them have ongoing transmission. Of the 729 cases, 692 involved people who are unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.
Cases in the outbreak have been trending downward since the end of March. Texas has also reported 24 other measles cases that don’t have clear links to the West Texas outbreak.
The New Mexico Department of Health also reported one new case, lifting its total to 79. The newest case is from Sandoval County in the west central part of the state, which just reported four new cases on May 23. One was an infant too young to be vaccinated, and the others were adults with at least one vaccine dose.
More cases in North Dakota, Kansas, and Virginia
Elsewhere, North Dakota Health and Human Services reported the first two cases from Grand Forks County, the third to be affected by measles, bringing the state’s total to 21. All were unvaccinated. The patients are thought to have contracted the virus during international travel.
Health officials said the most recent cases from the other two counties—Cass and Williams—were contacts of the state’s earlier cases.
Kansas health officials reported a measles case from Pawnee County, and in a joint statement, state and county authorities said it’s not clear if the case is linked to an ongoing outbreak in Southwest Kansas. Pawnee County is in the west central part of the state.
On the East Coast, the Virginia Department of Health reported the state’s second case of the year in a teenager from the northwestern region who had recently traveled internationally.
