The measles outbreak in the U.S. continues to escalate, with 279 cases reported in Texas and concerns about its spread. The recent deaths of a child and an adult highlight the outbreak's severity, which experts warn could lead to thousands of cases if it reaches areas with low vaccination rates. Despite the threat, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. provides lukewarm support for vaccination amid persistent anti-vaccination sentiments. Experts stress the critical role of vaccination in controlling the outbreak's impact.
We haven't yet seen signs of the outbreak slowing down, says William Moss, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
If a spark lands in a state such as Maryland, which has a 97% measles vaccination rate, it will just fizzle out.
I think it could get to thousands and thousands of cases, says virologist Paul Offit at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.
Kennedy has also promoted treatments including cod liver oil, steroids and antibiotics, none of which are known to be effective against measles.
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