West Texas Measles Outbreak Surges To 400 Cases

The Texas Tribune reports:

The number of measles cases has risen to 400, a spike of 73 cases over the last three days, as the historical outbreak continues to rage on in West Texas, according to state officials on Friday. Of those, 41 patients have been hospitalized.

State officials have been releasing updated measles numbers every Tuesday and Friday. The 73 new cases that have been confirmed since Tuesday represent the biggest surge in cases over a three-day period since the outbreak started; of those new cases, most of them, 44, have been in Gaines County.

Public health officials have also warned that the state could see an increase in measles cases after children have been traveling for spring break.

Reuters reports:

At Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, several unvaccinated children showed signs of liver problems after taking large amounts of vitamin A, according to Dr. Lara Johnson, the hospital’s chief medical officer.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promoted vitamin A during the outbreak, even suggesting it might help prevent measles. But doctors say this isn’t true.

Dr. Lesley Motheral, a pediatrician in Lubbock, said kids in Texas are generally well-nourished and don’t need extra vitamin A. “Recovery for patients with acute toxicity can be rapid when the vitamin is discontinued,” Motheral said. “Sadly, some of the more serious problems with vitamin A toxicity are not always reversible.”

Have they tried horse paste? RFK says it cures everything.