Texas health officials have pleaded with families residing within the state, urging them to avoid attending “measles parties” and ensure that their children are vaccinated in the wake of a severe measles outbreak that has already killed one child.
“Measles parties” refer to gatherings in which attendees deliberately expose themselves to the illness within a controlled environment in order to build natural immunity instead of obtaining a vaccine, reported Dallas News.
“It’s not good to go have measles parties … let me discourage you from doing this,” Dr. Ron Cook, chief health officer for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, said during a Friday press briefing. “We can’t predict who is going to do poorly with measles, be hospitalized and potentially get pneumonia or encephalitis and or pass away from this.”
Prior to the invention of the chicken pox vaccine in 1995, people would attend “chicken pox parties” for the same reasons, resulting in the rapid spreading of the illness. Measles is among the most contagious viruses globally and can severely impact those who are not vaccinated.
As of Monday, there are nearly 150 cases of the illness in the state, according to the Texas Department of Health Services, with one unvaccinated child dying from the illness last month.
“There are severe outcomes like pneumonia or death. There is encephalitis or inflammation of the brain. Even more rare, but it can happen … years down the road after you develop measles, you can get what is called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, which is fatal. It is a known side effect of having measles,” Cook continued.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also encouraged people to get the measles vaccine following news of the outbreak, despite previously stating that the outbreak was “not unusual” during President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting.
“Ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me and my extraordinary team,” Kennedy said in a post on X.
Originally published by Latin Times.
Texas health officials have pleaded with families residing within the state, urging them to avoid attending “measles parties” and ensure that their children are vaccinated in the wake of a severe measles outbreak that has already killed one child. “Measles parties” refer to gatherings in which attendees deliberately expose themselves to the illness within a controlled environment in order to build natural immunity instead of obtaining a vaccine, reported Dallas News. “It’s not good to go have measles parties … let me discourage you from doing this,” Dr. Ron Cook, chief health officer for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, said during a Friday press briefing. “We can’t predict who is going to do poorly with measles, be hospitalized and potentially get pneumonia or encephalitis and or pass away from this.” Prior to the invention of the chicken pox vaccine in 1995, people would attend “chicken pox parties” for the same reasons, resulting in the rapid spreading of the illness. Measles is among the most contagious viruses globally and can severely impact those who are not vaccinated. As of Monday, there are nearly 150 cases of the illness in the state, according to the Texas Department of Health Services, with one unvaccinated child dying from the illness last month. “There are severe outcomes like pneumonia or death. There is encephalitis or inflammation of the brain. Even more rare, but it can happen … years down the road after you develop measles, you can get what is called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, which is fatal. It is a known side effect of having measles,” Cook continued. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also encouraged people to get the measles vaccine following news of the outbreak, despite previously stating that the outbreak was “not unusual” during President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting. “Ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me and my extraordinary team,” Kennedy said in a post on X. Originally published by Latin Times.
