CDC says measles cases are most certainly underreported as outbreak swells in Texas

Measles cases are most certainly being underreported in the US as public health officials scramble to seek out resources to deal with a ballooning outbreak within the Southwest, in line with a senior scientist on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To date this 12 months, 747 cases have been recorded in the US, in line with NBC News’ tally. Two unvaccinated children in Texas and an unvaccinated adult in Latest Mexico have died. The adult tested positive for measles, however the official reason for death continues to be under investigation. 

Dr. David Sugerman, a senior scientist leading the CDC’s measles response, said Tuesday at a gathering of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee that greater than 90% of the cases are “related to the Southwest outbreak, driven by transmission in close-knit, undervaccinated communities.” The opposite cases have largely been imported from other countries, he said.

“We do imagine that there is quite a considerable amount of cases that usually are not reported and underreported,” Sugerman said Tuesday as he updated the committee on measles. “In working very closely with our colleagues in Texas; in talking with families, they could mention prior cases which have recovered and never received testing, other families that will have cases and never sought treatment.”

Sugerman said the CDC has deployed 15 people to Texas to assist manage the outbreak and is sending seven more this week. It continues to make measles vaccines available to health departments at their request, he said, and it helps standardize and expand wastewater surveillance.

Nonetheless, the CDC slashed $11.4 billion in Covid funding last month, a few of which helped state health departments reply to disease outbreaks. Sugerman said the lack of Covid grant money has created “funding limitations” in Texas, where state officials are redirecting staffers to work on the measles response or moving them from other regions to assist support efforts within the outbreak area.

“We’re scraping to seek out the resources and personnel needed to supply support to Texas and other jurisdictions,” Sugerman said. 

As of Tuesday, 561 cases had been confirmed within the West Texas outbreak, in line with the state’s Department of State Health Services. Each measles case may cost $30,000 to $50,000 to deal with, which “adds up quite quickly,” Sugerman said. 

Before this 12 months, the US had not had a measles death in a decade, and a child had not died of measles since 2003. Many public health experts have criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s approach to the outbreak. While Kennedy has called for people to get the measles vaccine, he has framed vaccination as a private selection and emphasized unproven treatments like steroids or antibiotics. He has also repeatedly claimed that immunity from measles vaccines wanes quickly, despite robust evidence that two doses of the vaccine offer lifelong protection.

At a media event Tuesday in Indiana, Kennedy said the CDC has “done a excellent job at controlling the measles outbreak,” pointing to higher case numbers in Europe. Nonetheless, the figure he cited — 127,000 cases — was the whole last 12 months across 53 countries. Disease experts say that’s an apples-to-oranges comparison with the present outbreak in the US.

Kennedy also suggested Tuesday that “healthy children mustn’t die of measles” if doctors know easy methods to treat it. In point of fact, no specific treatment is approved for measles, and unvaccinated children are vulnerable to severe complications, corresponding to pneumonia and swelling of the brain. Roughly 1 to three out of each 1,000 children with measles die from respiratory and neurological complications, in line with the CDC.

The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee met Tuesday for the primary time since Kennedy took office on Feb. 13. The meeting was originally scheduled for late February, but the Department of Health and Human Services postponed it. A senior HHS spokesperson said on the time that the delay was intended to permit time for public comment. 

Kennedy has previously accused the committee members of getting conflicts of interest, citing ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Most scientists say it is suitable for members to simply accept industry funding for vaccine research, so long as it’s disclosed.

Helen Keipp Talbot, who chaired the committee Tuesday, lamented that the group had to debate rising measles case numbers.

“I find it absolutely devastating that we’re having this update today,” she said. “There isn’t any reason why now we have healthy children dying of measles within the U.S. when this vaccine is amazing. It’s highly effective and has a really long-lasting immunity.”