Dr. Bird stressed there are no confirmed measles cases in Tarrant County, but they are prepared for a possible outbreak.
TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — There is growing concern about the measles from Tarrant County Public Health Director Dr. Brian Byrd. He and his team are being proactive as part of their response to an outbreak in another part of the state.
Dr. Bird stressed that although there are no confirmed measles cases in Tarrant County so far, they are prepared for a possible outbreak.
During his presentation at the Commissioner’s Court, Dr. Bird and his team shared recent measles numbers in Texas. Health officials blame the outbreak on fewer kids 5 years old and younger who have not been vaccinated.
Since late January, in the South Plains region, there have been 223 cases, with 29 patients being hospitalized, resulting in one death of a school-aged child who was not vaccinated and had no known underlying conditions . Since measles is highly contagious, doctors expect more cases in the same outbreak area and the surrounding communities.
To stay ahead of a possible outbreak, Tarrant County health officials are doing one-on-one visits to hospitals, school districts, and daycares to educate them on prevention and their outbreak response plan.
“We are able to send out a first response mobile unit to any location where there is an outbreak. One of the things we look at is where in Tarrant County we think we might see an outbreak. We look at Data like the school vaccination rates,” Dr. Byrd said.
He also said that he is most concerned about young people in Tarrant County who have not been vaccinated so far.
“It’s important to remember if we do have an outbreak here in Tarrant County, which is still likely,” said Dr Bird, “But if we do, it won’t be anything like COVID because so many of us are immune to measles, because we had it when we were little.”
The Department of State Health Services is working with local health departments to investigate the outbreak in the South Plains Region.
On Thursday, Garland ISD is offering a free MMR vaccine clinic to qualifying students.
As the number of measles cases reported in Texas continues to grow. Here are the North Texas schools most and least at risk of a breakout infection.
