Austin Public Health confirmed the city’s first case of measles since 2019 at a press conference Friday — the latest in a statewide outbreak that has left one dead and nearly 20 hospitalized.
The case was found in an unvaccinated infant who recently vacationed overseas, where they were exposed to the disease. According to a press release from Austin Public Health, the infant’s family are vaccinated and are isolating at home. Austin Public Health said no exposures are expected from the infant.
“The time that we have been preparing for is here,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said during the press conference with local health officials. “I want to emphasize to everyone listening that vaccination remains the best defense against this highly contagious and deadly disease.”
Measles has an unusually high infection rate — for every one unvaccinated person that contracts the disease, they are expected to infect anywhere from 12-18 other unvaccinated people on average, according to the National Institute of Health.
The disease was officially eradicated in America in 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control, but outbreaks have risen in recent years across the country. Travis County’s vaccination rate is just above 90%, though some schools have lower rates of vaccination, posing a 51% increased risk of an outbreak in those schools, said Dr. Desmar Walkes, medical director and health authority for Austin-Travis County.
Walkes said in the press conference that infected individuals are contagious for four days before the development of a rash, a common measles symptom, and for four days after the rash appears, making it difficult to recognize contraction. Because of that, Walkes said that there could be cases not yet recognized from the Austin infant’s exposure. Those who are exposed to a person with measles should monitor their condition and symptoms for 21 days following the exposure, Walkes said.
“Measles is serious, and can cause more than just a rash,” Walkes said. “Pneumonia and encephalitis, which is an infection of the brain or swelling of the brain, can be life-threatening complications that lead to death.”
However, vaccination against the disease is highly effective, and Austin Public Health offers vaccinations through the Shots for Tots and Big Shots Clinic, open for all including those who are uninsured. Other common symptoms of measles include fevers, a cough and small white spots inside the mouth and throat.
The Austin case is just one of at least 148 across the state of Texas that have been diagnosed in recent weeks. On Wednesday, an unvaccinated school-aged child became the first to die from the disease, and at least 18 others have been hospitalized, Walkes said.
“One death is too many in 2025,” Walkes said.
The outbreak began in West Texas’ Gaines County, but spread to central Texas when a contagious person traveled to San Antonio. At least 10 counties have reported cases, and of the 148 reported cases, 80 were unvaccinated, 63 have an unknown vaccination status and five had at least one vaccine dose.
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) spoke about the disease’s danger at the press conference, calling out the Trump administration for hundreds of firings at the CDC and communications blackout for all federal health agencies. He also spoke to measles’ risk of spreading in Texas’ capital specifically — the Austin case comes just a week before the South By Southwest Festival is set to draw thousands to the city.
“Measles can kill,” Doggett said. “Ignorance can kill, and vaccine denial definitely kills. … This is the largest measles outbreak in 30 years in our state. … It is particularly important that these not become super-spreader events.”
