According to the state's health department, measles cases in Texas rose to 663 on Tuesday, up 17 since April 25 as the United States struggled with one of the worst outbreaks of previously escalated childhood illnesses.

The Texas Department of Health Services said the number of cases in Gaines County, the outbreak center, increased to 396, three more than Friday’s last update.

Eighty-seven patients have been hospitalized, the agency said.

According to Secretary of Health Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy said an unvaccinated child, six years old, had no potential conditions to die in Texas in late February.

Researchers warn that the country is at a turning point in the return of the pandemic, when it declared the disease was declared eliminated for a quarter of a century.

"The rise in measles cases seems to be slowing down, but it's still about us seeing more cases increase the count," said Sapna Singh, chief medical officer of Pediatrics in Texas.

New Mexico's health department reported 66 cases on Tuesday, the same as last update. Most of the cases in the state come from Lea County, Gaines County, Texas.

“The ideal situation is to see that the number of cases has not increased for weeks before we can feel optimistic about the spread,” Singh said.

Pediatricians and infectious disease experts in the United States say the nationwide battle with measles cases has been hampered by claims of vaccination with government health officials and unproven treatments confusing with unproven parents.

Doctors assert that vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infection. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that is airborne and can easily spread when an infected person breathes, sneezes, or coughs. Since 2000, the disease has been considered elimination from the United States.

Other states with activity outbreaks (defined as three or more cases) include Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

One in five states have seen positive measles outbreaks, with nearly 900 cases in the U.S., according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. The number of measles cases confirmed by the CDC is 884, three times the number seen in 2024.

In communities with high vaccination rates (more than 95%), it is more difficult to spread diseases like measles in the community. This is called "group immunity."

But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic, with more and more parents claiming religious or personal conscience exemptions to exempt their children from their children’s requirements. The U.S. has seen an increase in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that has ill over 60 patients.