Analysis of Texas measles outbreak shows just how dangerous virus is
Analysis of Texas measles outbreak shows just how dangerous virus is
德克萨斯州麻疹疫情分析揭示了该病毒的危险性
For years, anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his zealous followers have downplayed measles as “just a rash” and falsely claimed that “Measles outbreaks have been fabricated to create fear.” In 2021, when Kennedy wrote those words, the US recorded just 49 measles cases. Yearly case counts have generally been low since 2000, when the US declared measles eliminated thanks to a decades-long vaccination campaign. But with the rise of Kennedy and his ilk in the past few decades, that public health triumph is being undone. Vaccination rates have slipped, and large, multistate outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases have inevitably come roaring back.
多年来，反疫苗的卫生部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪（Robert F. Kennedy Jr.）及其狂热追随者一直将麻疹轻描淡写为“仅仅是皮疹”，并虚假地声称“麻疹疫情是为了制造恐慌而捏造的”。2021年，当肯尼迪写下这些话时，美国仅记录了49例麻疹病例。自2000年美国宣布通过数十年的疫苗接种运动消灭了麻疹以来，每年的病例数一直处于低位。然而，随着肯尼迪及其同类在过去几十年的崛起，这一公共卫生胜利正在被瓦解。疫苗接种率下滑，疫苗可预防疾病的大规模跨州疫情不可避免地卷土重来。
Now it’s becoming painfully clear once again how wrong Kennedy and his cohorts are about infectious diseases and vaccines. In a study published yesterday in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, state and federal researchers provided a detailed postmortem of last year’s massive multi-state measles outbreak that mushroomed out of West Texas. The data reveals a disease that’s far from just a rash, with about 20 percent of people—mostly younger children—being hospitalized.
现在，肯尼迪及其同伙在传染病和疫苗问题上的错误再次变得显而易见。在昨天发表于《发病率与死亡率周报》（Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report）的一项研究中，州和联邦研究人员对去年从西德克萨斯州蔓延开来的大规模跨州麻疹疫情进行了详细的复盘。数据显示，这种疾病绝非仅仅是皮疹，约有20%的患者（主要是幼儿）需要住院治疗。
“The outcomes experienced by patients hospitalized during this outbreak underscore the seriousness of measles infection and highlight that measles can cause life-threatening complications affecting multiple organ systems and place significant stress on patients and health care systems,” the authors conclude. By the end of the outbreak, there were 762 outbreak-related measles cases in Texas alone. The new analysis focused on 325 cases in the outbreak’s first three months (January 20 to March 18, 2025). Of those, at least 60 were hospitalized (18.5 percent).
作者总结道：“此次疫情中住院患者的治疗结果强调了麻疹感染的严重性，并凸显了麻疹可能导致影响多个器官系统的危及生命的并发症，给患者和医疗系统带来了巨大压力。”到疫情结束时，仅德克萨斯州就有762例与疫情相关的麻疹病例。这项新分析重点研究了疫情前三个月（2025年1月20日至3月18日）的325例病例。其中，至少有60人住院（占18.5%）。
The researchers collected medical and case information from 54 of the hospitalized patients. All of them had no record of being vaccinated. Thirty of the 54 (56 percent) were young children between the ages of newborn and 4 years old. Nineteen (35 percent) were children ages 5 to 17. The five remaining cases were in adults, four of whom were pregnant women in their third trimester.
研究人员收集了其中54名住院患者的医疗和病例信息。他们所有人都没有疫苗接种记录。这54人中有30人（56%）是新生儿至4岁的幼儿。19人（35%）是5至17岁的儿童。其余5例为成年人，其中4名为处于孕晚期的孕妇。
Outcomes
治疗结果
Only six of the 54 hospitalized patients had an underlying medical condition that may have put them at higher risk. None of the 54 hospitalized patients were immunocompromised. Of the 54 hospitalized, 47 (87 percent) developed a complication of measles, including 39 (72 percent) who developed pneumonia, 25 (46 percent) had dehydration, and 21 (39 percent) developed diarrhea. Seventeen (31.5 percent) patients developed co-infections with other pathogens, a known risk with measles, and 28 (52 percent) were treated with antibiotics.
在54名住院患者中，只有6人患有可能使其处于更高风险的基础疾病。这54名住院患者中没有免疫功能低下者。在54名住院患者中，47人（87%）出现了麻疹并发症，其中39人（72%）患有肺炎，25人（46%）出现脱水，21人（39%）出现腹泻。17名（31.5%）患者合并感染了其他病原体（这是麻疹已知的风险），28人（52%）接受了抗生素治疗。
Thirty-eight (70.4 percent) patients required supplemental oxygen to breathe. Thirty-seven (68.5 percent) experienced hypoxia, which is insufficient oxygen levels to support the body. Four of the hospitalized patients, all children, required treatment in an intensive care unit. Three had dehydration. Two required intubation and mechanical ventilation. One child died. (There was a second child death in the Texas outbreak, but it occurred after the timeframe of the study and was not included.)
38名（70.4%）患者需要补充氧气以维持呼吸。37名（68.5%）患者出现缺氧，即氧气水平不足以支持身体需求。4名住院患者（均为儿童）需要在重症监护室接受治疗。其中3人出现脱水。2人需要插管和机械通气。一名儿童死亡。（德克萨斯州疫情中还有第二名儿童死亡，但发生在研究时间范围之后，因此未被纳入。）
Of the five adults, four were pregnant women. Two of them gave birth during their hospitalizations and their two infants were diagnosed with active measles cases. One infant went on to experience symptoms suggestive of acute measles meningoencephalitis and was hospitalized weeks later, outside the timeframe of the study.
在5名成年人中，有4名是孕妇。其中两人在住院期间分娩，她们的两名婴儿被诊断出患有活动性麻疹。其中一名婴儿后来出现了提示急性麻疹脑膜脑炎的症状，并在几周后住院，这已超出了研究的时间范围。
With all this, the authors concluded that “although many cases of measles are mild, approximately one in five persons with confirmed measles in this outbreak required hospitalization for pneumonia, dehydration, or other complications, including rare cases of serious illness or death. Measles vaccination remains a critical tool in both routine and outbreak settings for the prevention of measles infections, severe disease, and hospitalizations.”
综上所述，作者得出结论：“尽管许多麻疹病例症状较轻，但在此次疫情中，约五分之一的确诊麻疹患者因肺炎、脱水或其他并发症需要住院治疗，其中包括罕见的重症或死亡病例。在常规和疫情环境下，麻疹疫苗接种仍然是预防麻疹感染、严重疾病和住院治疗的关键工具。”
In 2025, the US recorded 2,288 measles cases overall, the highest total since 1991. Not yet six months into 2026, and the country is already close to reaching that number; as of May 28, the US has reported 1,983 cases across 40 jurisdictions. There have been 30 new outbreaks since the start of the year. Overall, the country is on track to lose its measles elimination status.
2025年，美国共记录了2,288例麻疹病例，为1991年以来的最高总数。2026年尚未过半，该国就已经接近达到这一数字；截至5月28日，美国已在40个司法管辖区报告了1,983例麻疹病例。自今年年初以来，已发生了30起新的疫情。总体而言，美国正处于失去麻疹消除状态的边缘。