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A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that more than 90% of the people hospitalized during the first two months of the 2025 measles outbreak in West Texas were children. More than half were under the age of four. Of the five adults who required hospital care for measles during that period, four of them were pregnant. Two of them delivered their babies while they were in the hospital for measles, and both babies tested positive for measles within two days of birth.
The CDC gathered this information from the available medical records of 54 of the 60 people who were hospitalized between January 20 and March 18, 2025. More than 70% of those hospitalized during these two months had pneumonia. Nearly 70% had hypoxia. 70% required supplemental oxygen. Four children were admitted to the intensive care unit; two required intubation and mechanical ventilation, and one child died.
All of the people included in this report were either unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown.
The West Texas measles outbreak continued through August 18 of that year. Of the 762 people with confirmed infections between January and August 2025, 99 were hospitalized. Another child died, bringing the total number of people killed by measles during the outbreak to two.
