Incredibly contagious cases of the measles virus continue to rise across Texas and the United States. This is because the country’s best health officials promote treatments that are not supported by health experts.
Until this year, the US has recorded more than 250 measles cases in several states, including Oklahoma, California, Georgia, Florida, New York, Kentucky and Rhode Island.
The epicenter remains in western Texas and neighboring New Mexico, where two unvaccinated people have died from the virus.
That comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, JR, continues to focus on his casting suspicions about unproven treatments like cod liver oil and vaccine safety.
The BBC contacted the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for comment.
Measles is a dangerous virus that does not cure and can lead to many complications, including pneumonia and brain swelling. That could be fatal.
For a larger population to be protected, vaccination rates must be at least 95%, but some communities where the virus is spreading are far below that.
The US declared measles had been eliminated in 2000, but it has been happening in recent years as anti-vaccine sentiment has risen.
Health officials say cases show no signs of slowing down in western Texas, where two pregnant women recently reported infections.
Crossing the state’s borders, New Mexico currently has more than 30 cases, but new infections have been confirmed this week in Oklahoma, New York and Los Angeles.
In some cases, unvaccinated Americans spread measles to others after contracting the virus abroad, including Long Island, New York, where their babies caught the virus while traveling with their families, health officials say.
Cases are also on the rise in Canada, with 146 reported infections.
Kennedy has so far provided mixed messages about outbreaks.
Initially, he suggested that rising cases were not “unusual” for the United States.
Then, in an interview with Fox News this week, Kennedy suggested that cod liver oil and other alternative measles treatments have proven “miraculous.”
The statement resonates with some residents in western Texas, said Ron Cook, a family doctor and health official who helps doctors respond to the outbreak in Lubbock, where a child died of measles this month.
There, a handful Doctor Dr. Cook said he distributes cod liver oil to parents of sick children who are skeptical of measles vaccinations. One doctor told NBC News he was trying to help his family with alternative treatments “like Bobby Kennedy is trying to do.”
Vitamin A – nutrients found in cod liver oil – are sometimes provided as part of the treatment of measles, especially if someone is lacking, Dr. Cook said. However, he added that it is difficult to monitor vitamin levels in cod liver oil.
“What disappoints me the most is that they’re not talking about vaccines,” Dr. Cook said.
He said he believes he missed the opportunity to engage with the vaccine receiving community to slow the spread of measles.
Kennedy provided conditional approval for the vaccine this week, telling Fox News that it was “recommended” for the origins of the Texas Mennonite Community – Outbreak, suggesting that some children have been harmed by the vaccine and have been thoroughly researched and found to be safe.
This week, Kennedy has established, updated and re-employed a 2021 book that Kennedy calls the measles vaccine “dangerous.”
“The measles outbreak was manufactured to create fears of forcing government officials to “do something,” he said, adding that the benefits of the vaccine were “exaggerated.”
