Texas’ measles outbreak that began in Gaines County in January has now expanded to 709 cases, officials said on Friday.
The update from the Texas Department of State Health Services does not include additional cases, also connected to the outbreak, that have been reported in New Mexico and Oklahoma.
As of Friday, there have been 797 cases reported in the outbreak across the three states.
There have been seven measles cases reported in the Dallas-Fort Worth area so far this year, but none have been linked to the larger outbreak.
State officials list six of the seven North Texas cases as “other 2025″ cases, meaning they are not associated with the West Texas outbreak. That includes the two cases reported in Tarrant County late last week.
Tarrant County Public Health Director Dr. Brian Byrd said on Friday morning that his department had not yet received the results of genotyping on the two measles cases. Those results will be returned next week, Byrd said.
Byrd said Tarrant County has so far not found any additional measles cases.
“If you are near a table made of wood, please knock on it,” Byrd said. “Right now, we have not had any positive tests, besides those two.”
Friday’s update did not include a second measles case reported in Denton County, on either the list of cases related to the outbreak or the list of cases unrelated to the outbreak.
Denton County Public Health Director Matt Richardson wrote in a Thursday afternoon email that his department was not aware of any additional cases beyond the two so far reported in that county.
As of Friday, the state data showed 16 measles cases reported in Texas this year that are not associated with the West Texas outbreak.
