The US has 1,001 measles cases and 11 states with active outbreaks

WEST TEXAS (AP) – Texas confirmed eight more measles cases over the span of four days, continuing a short streak of shrinking increases in a state that has been dealing with a large outbreak for nearly four months.

The U.S. surpassed 1,000 measles cases Friday, and Texas still accounts for the vast majority of cases in an outbreak that also spread measles to New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas.Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.

Other states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

North America has two other ongoing outbreaks, all of which are the same measles strain. One outbreak in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,440 cases from mid-October through May 6, up 197 cases in a week. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 1,094 measles cases and one death as of Tuesday, according to data from the state health ministry.

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.

As the virus takes hold in U.S. communities with low vaccination rates, health experts fear that spread could stretch on for a year. Here’s what else you need to know about measles in the U.S.

How many measles cases are there in Texas?

There are a total of 717 cases across 32 counties, most of them in West Texas, state health officials said Tuesday. The state confirmed only eight more cases since its update Friday.

The state also added one hospitalization to its count, for a total of 93 throughout the outbreak.

State health officials estimated about 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious. Fifty-seven percent of Texas’ cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 405 cases since late January — just over 1.7% of the county’s residents.

The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6.

How many measles cases are there in New Mexico?

New Mexico remained steady with 71 total cases Tuesday. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state’s cases are in Lea County. Three are in Eddy County, two in Don?a Ana County and Chaves and Curry counties have one each.

An unvaccinated adult died of measles-related illness March 6. The person did not seek medical care.

How many cases are there in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma held steady with a total of 14 confirmed and three probable cases as of Tuesday.

The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases, but Cleveland, Oklahoma and Sequoyah counties have had public exposures in the past couple of months.