Three Montgomery County residents have been diagnosed with the measles, the county’s health district confirmed Tuesday.
According to the Montgomery County Public Health Department, the three are family members and have not been vaccinated. They were exposed by another measles-infected person who had traveled from out-of-state.
There is no other information about the family members’ current condition or if any of them required hospitalization. Montgomery County is north of Houston’s Harris County, one of the most populous in the nation.
Measles is a highly contagious virus with possible serious health complications that can be life-threatening, especially in children younger than 5 years old. The health department reminded local residents that measles spreads easily through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Symptoms including a high fever, cough, runny nose, rash and red watery eyes, can appear 7 to 14 days after contact with the virus. Public health officials have warned Texans to isolate immediately from others and to contact a healthcare provider if they believe they have been exposed. The best protection against measles is to be vaccinated.
Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000 but has recently seen a resurgence, particularly in Texas.
Last year, a West Texas measles outbreak over seven months resulted in a total of 762 measles cases and caused the deaths of two young girls. Measles is still common in many parts of the world and brought into the United States by infected travelers.
Earlier this year, Texas health officials confirmed 147 measles cases had occurred, with most of those cases occurring in federal detention facilities.
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