[Health] The Infectious Diseases Thread

[Isgrimnur]

Measles alerts issued in San Antonio, New Braunfels and San Marcos as Texas outbreak spreads

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.

Comal County public health officials also report the individual stopped in at a large New Braunfels travel center.

Friday, February 14th:

Texas State University in San Marcos from approximately 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Twin Peaks restaurant in San Marcos from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Saturday, February 15th:

The University of Texas at San Antonio Main Campus between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
San Antonio River Walk attractions— Wax Museum, Ripley’s Believe It or Not and Ripley’s Illusion Lab between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m on Saturday, February 15th.
Mr. Crabby's Seafood and Bar in Live Oak between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Sunday, February 16th:

New Braunfels Buc-ees between 9 a.m. and noon.

[Kraken]

Wow, it's going viral.

[Smoove_B]

It's up to 124 cases now:

The Texas Department of State Health Services is reporting an outbreak of measles in the South Plains region of Texas. At this time, 124 cases have been identified since late January. Eighteen of the patients have been hospitalized. Five of the cases are vaccinated. The rest are unvaccinated, or their vaccination status is unknown.

This single outbreak has already exceeded the total number of annual cases each year between 2020 and 2024. We'll have to see how it compares to total US cases in 2019 (1274), which was an outlier - Nature is healing!

[gilraen]

And of course, outbreaks of measles are usually followed by outbreaks of other childhood illnesses since measles can cause prolonged immunosuppression up to and including immunity amnesia.

[stessier]

The first chapter of Everything is Tuberculosis. I suspect this might be making a comeback in the US for some reason.

[Smoove_B]

It's on my short list to read...and yes, I do think we're going to be hearing more about TB soon.

But for now, we have the first death from the TX measles outbreak. It's the first measles death in the United States in a decade.

A person who was hospitalized with measles has died from measles in West Texas, the first death in an outbreak that began late last month.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center spokesperson Melissa Whitfield confirmed the death Wednesday. It wasn’t clear the age of the patient, who died overnight.

I am also not familiar enough with the area to know what's happening, but found this to be illuminating:

The outbreak is largely spreading in the Mennonite community in an area where small towns are separated by vast stretches of oil rig-dotted open land but connected due to people traveling between towns for work, church, grocery shopping and other day-to-day errands.

I don't think I knew TX had a Mennonite community - I'm only familiar with them from PA and OH.

[stessier]

I don't think I knew TX had a Mennonite community - I'm only familiar with them from PA and OH.

Indiana too! And I think there are some in either Western NC or Northeast SC.

[Isgrimnur]

https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/new ... 194038007/

[Grifman]

Texas is debating loosening vaccination rules, allowing parents to opt out:

https://kvia.com/news/el-paso/2025/01/2 ... ationwide/

How did we get so stupid?

[Isgrimnur]

We’ve always been this stupid. Humanity is a bucket of crabs. We rise not because of our inherent nature, but by the efforts of those who strive to overcome it, constantly fighting those who would keep everyone in a state of intellectual squalor.

[Blackhawk]

I like that. Thanks.