US measles cases have topped 700 cases in six states: All you need to know

U.S.measles cases topped 700 as of Friday, capping a week in which Indiana joined five other states with active outbreaks, Texas grew by another 60 cases, and a third measles-related death was made public.Health Secretary Robert F.

Kennedy Jr. claimed in a televised Cabinet meeting Thursday that measles cases were plateauing nationally, but the virus continues to spread mostly in people who are unvaccinated, and the U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention redeployed a team to West Texas.The U.S.

has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024, and Texas is reporting the majority of them with 541.Texas’ cases include two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children who died from measles-related illnesses near the epicenter of the outbreak in rural West Texas, which led Kennedy to visit the community Sunday.The third person who died was an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated.Other states with active outbreaks — defined as three or more cases — include New Mexico, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, and Oklahoma.The multistate outbreak confirms health experts’ fears that the virus will take hold in other U.S.

communities with low vaccination rates and that the spread could stretch on for a year.The World Health Organization has said cases in Mexico are linked to the Texas outbreak.Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes, or coughs.

It is preventable through vaccines and has been considered eliminated from the U.S.since 2000.Here’s what else you need to know about measles in the U.S.Texas’ outbreak began in late January.

State health officials said Friday there were 36 new cases of measles since Tuesday, bringing the total to 541 across 22 counties — most of them in West Texas.A total of 56 Texans have been hospitalized throughout the outbreak.Of the confirmed cases, state health officials estimated Friday that about 5% ...