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Six measles cases reported in Texas in 2018, officials say

Austin American-Statesman - 8/15/2018

Aug. 15--Records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 107 people from 21 states, including Texas, had measles from Jan. 1 through mid-July.

So far this year, six people in Texas have contracted the measles virus, which is transmitted through the air and can cause a rash and fever, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.

The six cases, which were connected as some of the individuals with the disease were related, were in Ellis County in North Texas in January, said Lara Anton, a State Health Services spokeswoman. All six people were unvaccinated, she said.

Anton said there was one measles case in 2016 in Collin County and one in 2017 in Dallas County, according to reports the department receives from medical professionals. Neither person was vaccinated those years, she said.

The department attributes the jump in cases between 2016 and 2018 to the disease being highly contagious.

"If one person has it, 90 percent of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected with the virus," Anton said. "The six people in the outbreak in January were all unvaccinated and they were either related or closely connected."

Measles symptoms can start with a fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and sore throat, according to the department.

Two or three days after symptoms first start appearing, tiny white spots will pop up inside a person's mouth. Three to five days after the spots appear, a rash usually begins forming on a person's hairline and spreads down to their feet, according to the department.

If you think you may have measles, Anton suggested going to see a doctor. The only way to prevent measles is with a vaccine, according to the department.

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