The United States is experiencing an outbreak of the measles disease, as reported by the states of Louisiana, Virginia, and Missouri. Soon after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 800 cases of the disease in the U.S., these three states reported their first measles cases of 2025. The illness is reported to have spread to half of the U.S., though the majority is being observed to be in Texas.
Three measles cases in Louisiana, Missouri, and Virginia reported by Health officials are to be linked with international travel. This article from The CEO Views provides a sneak peek into the three cases from these states, about the measles, its symptoms, prognosis, and the rubeola vaccine to fight off the illness.
Background
The measles outbreak started in Texas in late January with two cases and later reported to become the largest outbreak in the United States in 30 years.
The Virginia Case
The Virginia measles case is the first reported case of this illness, which shows how contagious this disease is and how fast it can spread. State epidemiologist Laurie Forlano said, “Vaccination remains our best defense against measles and is safe and highly effective at protecting people and preventing outbreaks.”
Two Kaiser Permanente medical centers in Woodbridge and Fredericksburg are identified as exposure areas where most of the cases are occurring.
The Louisiana Case
According to the Department of Health, the Louisiana case involves an adult from the southeast of the state who wasn’t vaccinated against the measles disease. The patient is currently in isolation and receiving treatment at a hospital.
The Missouri Case
The Missouri measles case is of a child who recently traveled internationally, visiting Taney County. There isn’t any clear information about the child’s age, and the vaccination status is not clear yet. No contact with the child has been identified as the exposure is found to be limited.
Prior to these three cases, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported a spike of 481 measles cases, including six young children at a daycare center in Lubbock.
Before 2025, the U.S. hadn’t had a measles death in a decade.
Knowing Measles
A highly contagious disease, measles is a viral infection that can be serious for small children but is curable through a vaccine. Measles disease starts showing its symptoms 10-14 days after exposure. They include high fever, cough, rash, runny nose, sore throat, and red eyes. It can lead to life-threatening complications like pneumonia, brain inflammation, and more. Getting the measles vaccine can prevent the disease from getting and spreading.
Measles disease is extremely contagious and can spread rapidly from the infected person to 10 more people close to them. It spreads through the air by respiratory droplets produced either by coughing or sneezing by the infected person, and lingers in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours. People having measles must be kept isolated for four days after they develop rashes.
A Measles Vaccine: How Effective Is It?
The Rubeola vaccine is highly effective and safe. As per statistics, the measles vaccine is 97% effective at preventing measles with the standard doses of two and 93% with one dose. This vaccine is usually given to people when they are children, with one dose administered between 12 to 15 months and the other between four to six years old. It is administered to ensure lifelong protection from the measles disease.
Adults can also administer the vaccine if they were not vaccinated in childhood or must revaccinate if they were vaccinated before 1968. This is because early vaccines were not as effective as the new ones.
RFK Jr.’s Comment on the Measles Outbreak
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr., considered the measles outbreak ‘unusual’ initially but later marked it as ‘serious.’ He considered the outbreak “a call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health.” After this declaration on March 3, Kennedy said on April 6 that the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR or rubeola vaccine. He further informed that an anti-inflammatory steroid, budesonide, and an antibiotic, clarithromycin, proved to be two extraordinary healers during this outbreak in Texas.
The director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, Dr. Paul Offit, negated this fact by stating that budesonide and clarithromycin have no role to play in treating measles. Kennedy directed his support for the measles vaccine in an interview with CBS News, stating, “The federal government’s position, my position, is that people should get the measles vaccine.” He also emphasized using vitamin A under a physician’s supervision to treat measles disease. The necessity of getting vaccinated is also emphasized by the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Sue Kressly, who mentioned that relying solely on Vitamin A instead of the rubeola vaccine is “dangerous and ineffective.”
