By the #s: Where measles has made it in New Mexico
(Rimma Bondarenko/ Getty Images)
A measles case was confirmed this week in the sixth New Mexico county this week, populous Sandoval County — much farther north than previous cases.
State health officials alerted the public that they could have been exposed to the virus at a Trader Joe's in Albuquerque, along with a big medical center in Rio Rancho.
As of Friday, there are 74 confirmed cases across New Mexico, state health officials told Source New Mexico.
In addition to providing daily updates on the virus' spread, health officials also provide dates, times and locations where people may have been exposed, along with a list of places where people can walk in to receive vaccines.
Read all of Source's measles coverage here.
Infected people have been in a Denny's in Hobbs, a school gym in Lovington, a preschool in Las Cruces and various medical clinics in southern and northern New Mexico in recent months.
Measles symptoms begin with a cough, runny nose and eye redness, before progressing to fever and rash that starts at the head before moving down the body. Health officials advise that people who have measles can infect others from four days before the rash appears and remain contagious four days after the rash is gone.
In addition to Sandoval County, New Mexico has now seen confirmed cases in Chaves, Curry, Doña Ana, Eddy and Lea counties. Currently, more than 1,000 measles cases have been reported nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The health department encourages people with symptoms who have been exposed to measles to call NMDOH Helpline at 1-833-SWNURSE (1-833-796-8773) for guidance in English and Spanish. If planning to see a doctor or visit an emergency room, call first so health care providers can plan for a visit by someone who may have measles.
See a map below showing statewide exposure sites, along with vaccine clinic sites and other information:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
State-run Woodward facility fined for resident injuries
The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing handles inspections of the state-run Woodward Resource Center. (Photo illustration via Getty Images; logo courtesy of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing) The state-run Woodward Resource Center for adults with disabilities has been cited for two incidents that resulted in residents being treated at a hospital for injuries. According to state records, the facility has been fined $2,750 due to the staff being unable to demonstrate the skills and techniques necessary to manage residents' behavior, and failing to provide residents with nursing services required to meet their needs. In one incident, a resident who had complained of acute abdominal pain in March was sent to the emergency room of a hospital where it was discovered he had swallowed a plastic spoon. An endoscopy was then performed to remove the spoon. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX State inspectors allege Woodward officials investigated the matter and reviewed video footage that showed the resident, who was to receive one-on-one monitoring from the staff, sitting at the dining room table and putting a spoon in his mouth and down his throat. The footage allegedly showed the worker assigned to watch him left the area at least once. Inspectors reported, without elaborating, that the video footage was 'unavailable' for them to review. The resident suffered from pica – the practice of eating inedible objects – and had previously swallowed batteries, coins and rocks. A Ziploc bag containing plastic straws and spoons was found in his bedroom after the incident involving the spoon. In the second incident, a resident of the home was transported to the hospital the evening of March 17, 2025, a day and a half after the staff had noticed one knee was bruised, swollen and unable to bear weight. The home's administrator of nursing later confirmed the staff should have notified Woodward's physician on the morning of March 16, 2025, when they first became aware of the injury. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
San Juan pediatrician talks vaccines, measles precautions
Vials of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are displayed on a counter at a Walgreens Pharmacy on January 26, 2015 in Mill Valley, California. (Photo by Illustration) Earlier this week, a young child in San Juan County with one dose of the measles vaccine contracted the measles on a domestic flight, putting area doctors on watch for more cases. 'I would say we're in a cautious holding pattern,' Dr. Brad Scoggins, a pediatrician based in Farmington, told Source New Mexico. 'We're appropriately concerned, but not panicked.' Measles, a highly contagious respiratory virus, spreads through contact with airborne droplets from an infected person's coughs and sneezes. Symptoms can take one to three weeks tos develop, and include headache, cough, fever, red eyes and a spotty red rash on the head and face that spreads across the body. New Mexico health officials report measles exposures in San Juan, Lea county hospitals Scoggins said the clinic has enacted increased precautions to prevent spread, such as using virtual visits or testing any cases with symptoms of fever and rash outside of the clinic. The New Mexico Department of Health reported no change in the state's number of cases Friday, but public health officials have recently warned they expect a rise in cases due to summer travel. Much like cases across the U.S., over 80% of New Mexico's 81 measles infections impacted people who are unvaccinated or of unknown status. However, 13 cases of New Mexico's included patients with at least one dose of the vaccine. One dose of the measles vaccine offers 93% protection from infection and a second dose offers higher protection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When spread increases, measles can sometimes infect vaccinated people, but but with less severity, because the vaccine primes the body's defense system to fight it, Scoggins said. 'In real world terms, that means that the duration of illness is a bit shorter, and the severity is less,' he said. '[Measles, mumps rubella] vaccine is considered a sterilizing vaccine. So once you've had the vaccination, you should theoretically not be able to transmit it — or at least, it's much less likely.' Scoggins said he empathizes with parents who are concerned about safety and efficacy of vaccines, despite decades of research. 'There's a whole lot of noise out there right now, and it's hard for parents to know, I think, who to listen to,' he said. Scoggins said he's working to counter misinformation by pointing people to works of history including 'The Great Influenza' on the 1918 flu epidemic and 'Man and Microbes,' a history of plagues. 'It offers a little bit of a historical perspective because we live in a time where we're so protected from these things, but it's only because of what our forebears have instituted,' he said. Scoggins said that vaccine advice doesn't just apply to his patients, noting his own children have vaccinations, as do all 12 of the pediatricians and nurse practitioners in his office with children. 'All of our kids have had their vaccines on their regular schedule,' he said. 'We don't do anything for other people's kids that we wouldn't do for our own. Officials from San Juan County Regional Medical Center urged patients to call the NMDOH hotline at 1-833-796-8773, with any questions about testing, vaccines or symptoms. 'The best thing our community can do to protect themselves is to get vaccinated against the measles,' said Laura Werbner, a spokesperson at San Juan County Regional Medical Center. 'Talk to your pediatrician about the measles vaccine for your children. If you are an adult and have not been vaccinated, you can still get the vaccine.' More information about free vaccine clinics can be found at the state's measles webpage. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
As Fluoride Bans Spread, Who Will Be Hit the Hardest?
A recent study projected that if the entire country were to stop adding fluoride to the water supply, tooth decay would increase by about 7.5%, representing about 25 million more cavities. Credit - Linda Raymond—Getty Images Cavities and dental costs are at risk of skyrocketing as a growing number of states consider banning the use of fluoride in public water—and children from low-income households are likely most vulnerable. In March, Utah became the first state to prohibit adding fluoride to drinking water. A couple months later, Florida followed suit. Several other states are now considering similar bills. In a recent study published in JAMA Health Forum, researchers projected what would happen if the entire country were to stop adding fluoride to the water supply. The potential impact on both people's oral health and their dental bills was substantial: Tooth decay, the study found, would increase by about 7.5%—representing about 25 million more cavities—and the U.S. would face about $9.8 billion in additional costs over five years, including both what families would have to pay out-of-pocket for dental care and what the government would need to pay for public health insurance. And those impacts would disproportionately affect children on public insurance plans or without insurance, the researchers found. Fluoridated water is 'an amazing public health intervention that comes straight from the tap,' says the senior author of the study, Dr. Lisa Simon, an internal medicine physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, who is also a general dentist. Read More: The Science Behind Fluoride in Drinking Water 'Fluoride works for everyone—it benefits adults, it benefits children,' Simon says. 'But the people who derive the most benefit from it are people who have a harder time accessing routine dental care.' 'Unfortunately, in our country, that is more likely to be children and families who are low-income, who rely on public insurance, or who otherwise face challenges in getting to a dentist,' she says. States' moves to ban the use of fluoride in public drinking water come as the Trump Administration—due in large part to the influence of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—has pushed back against the practice. Kennedy has long blasted water fluoridation, claiming it is linked to arthritis, bone cancer, IQ loss, and more, and signaled that HHS will stop recommending it. The Environmental Protection Agency has said that it is studying the potential health risks of fluoride, and the Food and Drug Administration said it is taking steps to remove prescription ingestible fluoride supplements for children from the market. Some research suggests that fluoride could be associated with lower IQ scores, but only at significantly high levels of exposure—the amount of fluoride that is added to public water, based on federal guidelines, is far lower. And the majority of public health experts, pediatricians, and dentists insist that water fluoridation is a long-standing practice that is both safe and effective at protecting oral health and fighting cavities and tooth decay. Read More: America's Dental Health Is in Trouble 'It's been touted to be one of the most successful or greatest public health initiatives, right up there with vaccinations,' says Dr. Tomitra Latimer, a pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. U.S. localities started adding fluoride to public water in 1945, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has credited the public health initiative for the 'dramatic decline in cavities' in the country in the years since. According to the CDC, drinking fluoridated water reduces cavities by roughly 25% in both children and adults. Tooth decay, though preventable, is one of the most common childhood diseases. And children of color, children who come from low-income households, children on public insurance plans that limit which providers they can see, and children who live in rural areas and have to travel long distances to access care—all of them are at greater risk of developing cavities, according to Latimer. Children with autism also tend to have a heightened risk of developing cavities because they may struggle with brushing their teeth regularly, she says. While there are alternative sources of fluoride that people can purchase, the cost may be out of reach for many families, Latimer says. That's why, she says, fluoridated water is so critical: It's an easily accessible tool that can help protect the oral health of children who are most vulnerable to cavities. And for generations, it's flowed straight from the tap. Contact us at letters@
