Let’s Talk About the Person With Measles in North Texas That You Don’t Know About
Someone in North Texas has measles, and I’m pretty sure you don’t know about it yet.
So how do I know about it?
I keep up on WastewaterSCAN data, and they are showing that someone in North Texas has measles and is shedding the virus.
Let’s Talk About the Person With Measles in North Texas That You Don’t Know About
Where in North Texas?
This person or persons with measles is in or was in the Dallas, Richardson, Garland, Rowlett, Sachse, or Sunnyvale area.
These are areas severed by the:
City of Garland Rowlett Creek WWTP - receives wastewater from the east side of Garland and the cities of Rowlett and Sachse
Duck Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant - receives wastewater from the west side of Garland, and from portions of Dallas, Richardson and Sunnyvale.
And no, this does not mean that your drinking water is contaminated with measles!
Again, when you have measles, you can shed the measles virus, and it ends up in the wastewater when you go to the bathroom.
So why haven’t we heard about anyone with measles in or near Dallas yet?
Surprisingly, we often see these kinds of reports of measles in wastewater before there is a report of someone with measles in the community.
The wastewater reports are an early warning!
But why?
Well, for one thing, not everyone with measles seeks medical attention.
“Wastewater detections preceded reported cases by approximately 10 weeks.”
Notes from the Field: Retrospective Analysis of Wild-Type Measles Virus in Wastewater During a Measles Outbreak — Oregon, March 24–September 22, 2024
In an outbreak in Oregon a few years ago, there was a 10-week delay between when measles was first detected in wastewater, and they started to hear about cases in the community.
Unfortunately, just because someone isn’t going to the doctor when they have measles doesn’t mean they aren’t contagious - they are! And it doesn’t mean that they have quarantined themselves.
And even if they did, they were still contagious before they realized they had measles, so could have exposed others.
What to Do When You Have Measles in Your Community?
Which is the point of this announcement.
Knowing that there is measles in your community, should put you on the alert so that you:
can double-check the measles immune status of everyone in your family - is everyone up-to-date on their MMR vaccines? Remember, two doses of the MMR vaccine is your best protection against measles.
strongly consider getting vaccinated if you have intentionally skipped or delayed one or more of you or your child’s MMR vaccines
can get your kids an early MMR if an outbreak is declared in your area or if you travel out of the country or to an area where there are a lot of cases of measles already
can take extra precautions if you are immunosuppressed of if your kids are too young to be vaccinated
It can also help you understand that measles is spreading to more and more places.
And that means it is just a matter of time before these measles outbreaks reach you…