New Mexico health officials announced that the measles outbreak has reached a third county in the state’s southeastern corner Tuesday.

Texas and New Mexico measles outbreaks grow, with Texas reporting 481 cases across 19 counties, affecting largely undervaccinated areas.

Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.

Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week is sowing doubt about the safety and efficacy of some vaccines — beyond the measles shot — and arguing the government shouldn’t mandate their use.

An unvaccinated child in Chaves County, NM has been diagnosed with measles, marking the third county in New Mexico affected by the ongoing outbreak.

The multistate outbreak confirms health experts’ fears that the virus will take hold in other U.S. communities with low vaccination rates.

On Wednesday, April 9, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Human and Health Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited Hózhó Academy Charter school in Gallup, New Mexico as part of his three-day multi-state 'Make America Healthy Again' tour on Monday, April 7 through Wednesday, April 9. The tour also included stops in Utah and Arizona.

The measles outbreak has spread to additional counties in Kansas over the past two weeks, according to health officials. As of Wednesday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment is reporting 32 positive cases of measles,

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on the ground in Texas for the second time this year, as an ongoing multistate measles outbreak centered in the western part of the state has grown to one of the worst the United States has seen in decades.