CAHAN Alert - Expanding Measles Outbreak in Texas and New Mexico and Guidance for the Upcoming Travel Season

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to notify clinicians, public health officials, and potential travelers about a measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico and offer guidance for prevention and monitoring. As of March 7, 2025, Texas and New Mexico have reported 208 confirmed cases associated with this outbreak (198 in Texas and 10 in New Mexico). As a part of this outbreak, two deaths have been reported: one in Texas and one in New Mexico. More cases are expected as this outbreak continues to expand rapidly. 

With spring and summer travel season approaching in the United States, CDC emphasizes the important role that clinicians and public health officials play in preventing the spread of measles. They should be vigilant for cases of febrile rash illness that meet the measles case definition and share effective measles prevention strategies, including vaccination guidance for international travelers.

The risk for widespread measles in the United States remains low due to robust U.S. immunization and surveillance programs and outbreak response capacity supported by federal, state, tribal, local, and territorial health partners. Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination remains the most important tool for preventing measles. To prevent measles infection and spread from imported cases, all U.S. residents should be up to date on their MMR vaccinations, especially before traveling internationally, regardless of the destination.

Information about Measles in Texas can be found here: https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak-2025

Information about Measles in New Mexico can be found here: https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/ideb/mog/

Vaccination information can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/public/index.html

For the full report, please click here: https://www.cdc.gov/han/2025/han00522.html