The measles outbreak in Texas has now spread even further to nearly 500 cases, and daycare kids in the state are the latest victims of the ongoing health crisis.
The situation comes as six young kids at a Lubbock, Texas, daycare center were found to have become infected with measles. This is a scenario that many medical experts are raising concern about as it worsens the already out-of-control outbreak.
Measles Cases in Texas
It also comes as more than a dozen other states, including Washington, D.C., are fighting against measles cases unrelated to Texas. The Texas Department of State Health Services said on Friday that the outbreak has now resulted in 481 confirmed cases.
This number represents a 14% increase compared to the number of infected individuals last week. Since the start of the health crisis in late January, officials reported that 56 people have already been sent to the hospital, according to NBC News.
The Tiny Tots U Learning Academy is a center that has roughly 230 infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children. There, the outbreak started on Mar. 24, 2025, when a young girl became sick with fever and vomiting, later testing positive for measles. She later had to be brought to the hospital to be treated for pneumonia and trouble breathing.
Children at the daycare who tested positive so far are between the ages of five months and three years old. For nearly two weeks now, Maegan Messick, a co-owner of the center, has been tirelessly working with local health officials regarding the situation.
The center has also responded to the health crisis by sending all unvaccinated children home to avoid them getting infected. Those particular kids are "excluded from care" for 21 days, regardless of the parent's reasoning for not vaccinating their child, KFMX reported.
Rising Number of Cases
As of Apr. 4, 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a total of 607 confirmed cases of measles in 22 different states, including Texas. Officials also noted that hospitalizations were primarily seen in children under five years old.
The concerning situation comes as U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy is being linked to a number of vitamin A poisoning cases. The Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, is currently looking after patients who needed treatment for measles and were found to have elevated levels of vitamin A.
This comes as Kennedy has been promoting vitamin A as a potential treatment for the infection, noting that it can "dramatically reduce measles mortality." He also claimed that the government is "deliveringvitamin A" to West Texas to fight against the outbreak, as per the Telegraph.
