This report was generated on May 7, 2025.

The current measles outbreak in the southwestern United States began on January 29, 2025, when the South Plain Public Health district in Texas reported their first case of measles. Since then, measles cases have continued to rise. As of 5/7/2025, the Southwestern outbreak has 833 cases, including confirmed and pending cases across Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Experts warn this is likely a severe undercount. The situation remains fluid, with case numbers expected to rise. Experts project the outbreak could last up to a year.

## CURRENT CASE COUNT: 833  (As of 5/7/2025)
## HOSPITALIZATIONS: 99  (As of 5/7/2025)
## DEATHS: 3  (As of 5/7/2025)

Epi Curves

The following epi curve presents the number of cases reported for each week of the outbreak.

State-specific epi curves are provided below.

Cumulative Cases

Where are the cases?

Texas

County Cumulative Cases New Cases Percent of Cases in State
Andrews 3 0 0.43%
Bailey 2 0 0.28%
Borden 1 0 0.14%
Brown 1 0 0.14%
Cochran 14 0 1.99%
Dallam 7 0 1.00%
Dawson 26 0 3.70%
Eastland 2 2 0.28%
Ector 11 0 1.56%
El Paso 44 1 6.26%
Erath 1 0 0.14%
Gaines 403 7 57.33%
Garza 2 0 0.28%
Hale 6 1 0.85%
Hardeman 1 0 0.14%
Hockley 6 0 0.85%
Lamar 18 1 2.56%
Lamb 1 0 0.14%
Lubbock 51 1 7.25%
Lynn 2 0 0.28%
Martin 3 0 0.43%
Midland 3 0 0.43%
Parmer 5 1 0.71%
Potter 2 0 0.28%
Randall 1 0 0.14%
Reeves 1 0 0.14%
Terry 60 1 8.53%
Upshur 5 0 0.71%
Yoakum 20 1 2.84%

New Mexico

County Cumulative Cases New Cases Percent of Cases in State
Chaves 1 0 1.49%
Doña Ana 2 1 2.99%
Eddy 3 0 4.48%
Lea 61 0 91.04%

Oklahoma

Cumulative Cases New Cases
17 0

Note: Oklahoma does not report cases at the county level.

Kansas

County Cumulative Cases New Cases Percent of Cases in State
Finney Between 1-5 cases NA NA
Ford Between 1-5 cases NA NA
Grant Between 1-5 cases NA NA
Gray 15 0 32.61%
Haskell 8 0 17.39%
Kiowa 6 0 13.04%
Morton Between 1-5 cases NA NA
Stevens 7 0 15.22%

Note: For privacy reasons, Kansas does not report case totals for counties where there are less than 5 cases.

Who is being infected?

Ages of Cases

State Age Group Cases Percent of Cases in State
Texas 0 - 4 years 207 29.45%
Texas 5 - 17 years 255 36.27%
Texas 18+ 219 31.15%
Texas Unknown 21 2.99%
New Mexico 0 - 4 years 18 26.87%
New Mexico 5 - 17 years 19 28.36%
New Mexico 18+ 30 44.78%
New Mexico Unknown 0 0.00%
Kansas 0 - 4 years 14 30.43%
Kansas 5 - 17 years 24 52.17%
Kansas 18+ 8 17.39%
Kansas Unknown 0 0.00%

Vaccination Status of Cases

Texas
Vaccination Status Cases Percent of Cases in State
Unvaccinated/Unknown 672 95.59%
Vaccinated: 1 dose 13 1.85%
Vaccinated: 2+ doses 17 2.42%
New Mexico
Vaccination Status Cases Percent of Cases in State
Vaccinated with at least one dose 8 11.94%
Not Vaccinated 47 70.15%
Unknown 12 17.91%
Oklahoma
Vaccination Status Cases Percent of Cases in State
Unvaccinated/Unknown 16 94.12%
Vaccinated: 1 dose 0 0.00%
Vaccinated: 2+ doses 1 5.88%
Kansas
Vaccination Status Cases Percent of Cases in State
Age appropriately vaccinated 3 6.52%
Not age appropriately vaccinated 1 2.17%
Not vaccinated 39 84.78%
Pending verification / Unable to verify 3 6.52%

Will the virus continue to spread?

Low vaccination rates in affected counties accelerated the spread of the virus.

14 of the 29 counties reporting measles cases in Texas are below the 95% MMR vaccination threshold for herd immunity.

Learn More

State health department websites
Texas: https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak-2025
New Mexico: https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/ideb/mog/
Oklahoma: https://oklahoma.gov/health/health-education/acute-disease-service/rash-illness/measles.html
Kansas: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/2314/Measles-Data

US Outlook
https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/dd314001921f4d2eac160f89ded0b49a