measles

North Texans and public health officials said there's still a lot of work to do to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public health experts say Texas needs better messaging on vaccinations and quarantining and more people conducting contact tracing to contain the spread.

That raises the number of confirmed cases since January to 279, with 36 patients hospitalized.

Tarrant County hasn't seen any cases of measles yet, but public health officials told county commissioners Tuesday that they're getting ready for it.

An unvaccinated infant was exposed to the virus while vacationing with their family overseas, Austin Public Health said.

Vaccination eliminated measles from the U.S. 25 years ago. But it can still spread in pockets where vaccination rates are low, like the west Texas county with a current outbreak. Here's how fast.

The measles case reported in Rockwall County is unrelated to the outbreak in West Texas, officials said, but they're monitoring and preparing in case the disease spreads in North Texas.

Rockwall County Health Authority Dr. Dirk Perritt announced a measles case in an adult resident Wednesday. It's the first confirmed case in North Texas.

The Texas Department of Health and Human Services releases updated numbers of cases every Tuesday and Friday.

The outbreak is primarily affecting West Texas, but officials in San Antonio, New Braunfels and San Marcos are monitoring cases after an infected person recently visited the area, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The largest measles outbreak in decades has reached San Antonio and San Marcos. Officials say an individual who tested positive for the virus in West Texas traveled to two major universities and one of the nation's busiest tourist attractions — the San Antonio River Walk.

Measles is a highly contagious virus mostly common in school-aged children. 58 cases have been reported in northwest Texas.