An already uncontrollable outbreak that has expanded to at least two other states could get even worse when six young children at a daycare center in Lubbock, Texas, tested positive for measles.
There are measles infections unrelated to Texas in over a dozen other states and Washington, D.C.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported on Friday that there were 481 confirmed cases, a 14% increase from the previous week.
Since the illness began to spread in late January, 56 people have been admitted to local hospitals.
The outbreak started on March 24 when a young girl who had been ill with a fever and vomiting tested positive at the Tiny Tots U Learning Academy, a facility that houses about 230 newborns, toddlers, and preschool-aged children.
Later, she developed pneumonia and breathing difficulties, necessitating hospitalization.
According to Maegan Messick, a co-owner of the daycare, the children who have tested positive thus far are between the ages of five months and three years. None had received the full measles vaccination.
Messick has been discussing the problem with local health officials who are communicating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for almost two weeks.
Messick claimed she hasn’t received clear instructions on how to manage measles in a daycare with so many susceptible children.
“From what I’m being told, the CDC doesn’t have a playbook for this,” Messick stated. “We’ve just had to make judgment calls.”
Thus far in 2025, measles cases have been documented in over 20 states.
When asked Friday if any briefings were being planned to address the ongoing measles outbreak, a representative for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees CDC, did not reply.
It was unclear if this week’s major layoffs at CDC and HHS will hinder such attempts. However, some regions have already had to close their vaccination clinics due to severe budget cuts to community health departments that were revealed last week.
For instance, more than 50 clinics in Dallas County had to close. Numerous ones had been intended for schools in low-vaccination areas.
In 2025, there were 628 measles cases registered nationwide. Outbreaks have also occurred in Kansas (23 cases), Oklahoma (10 cases), and New Mexico (54 cases). Ohio public health officials have found 17.
According to Katherine Wells, public health director for Lubbock, the infections at the daycare center are probably connected to Gaines County, the outbreak’s epicenter.
Since the start of the outbreak, Wells said, she has been worried about instances spreading in daycare facilities.
She predicted that there would be more breakouts in other daycare facilities. “There will be others besides this.”
“I think we’ll have additional outbreaks in other day care centers,” she stated. “This isn’t going to be the only one.”
Messick of the Tiny Tots U Learning Academy stated that by regularly monitoring children for symptoms and separating specific classrooms, she and her team are attempting to lower the danger of further spread.
Additionally, they are calling on other daycare centers to support their families in getting the MMR vaccine. Parents have been asked to keep their children at home for a minimum of 21 days if they decide not to vaccinate them.
According to the CDC, two doses are nearly always sufficient to provide lifetime protection against measles. When exposed to the virus, unvaccinated individuals are nearly guaranteed to contract it.
Although it can be offered earlier, at six months, the first dose is typically not given until after a child’s first birthday.
“That’s the best that child care owners can do right now,” Messick stated. “It’s coming. There’s no way around it.”
This Information has been sourced from NBC News.
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