This story was first published by El Paso Matters, a nonprofit news organization.
EL PASO — Seventeen measles cases have been reported in El Paso, including 13 at the Camp East Montana Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, health officials said Thursday.
The cases at the ICE detention center are outside the city’s jurisdiction and reported through federal authorities, the El Paso Department of Public Health said in a news release. City health officials are coordinating with federal partners and have provided testing support and vaccines for prevention efforts, the release states.
Earlier this month, two cases of tuberculosis and 18 cases of COVID-19were identified at the ICE detention facility, which is located on Fort Bliss.
The four new measles cases in the city of El Paso involve a man in his 20s, a man in his 30s and two women in their 30s, all with unknown vaccination status.
The department identified several locations where potential exposures may have occurred between Feb. 20 and Feb. 22, including Cielo Vista Mall, Del Sol Medical Center, the Outlet Shoppes at El Paso, Target Bassett and multiple restaurants. Individuals who visited those sites and develop symptoms such as fever or rash should contact a health care provider.
Public health officials have begun contact tracing and are working with community partners to prevent further spread of the virus.
Measles spreads through coughing and sneezing and can remain in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area. The illness typically begins with fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes, followed by a rash that spreads from the head downward.
Although about 98% of El Paso County residents are vaccinated against measles, officials say unvaccinated or under-vaccinated individuals remain at highest risk.
A community needs an immunization rate above 95% to prevent the spread of measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The MMR, or measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, is one of the required immunizations for Texas schoolchildren.
El Paso kindergarteners saw an uptick in MMR immunization last school year and El Paso County as a whole contrasts other major counties in Texas where vaccination rates have fallen below the herd immunity threshold.
El Paso had not had a measles outbreak since 1990 until six cases were reported at El Paso and Fort Bliss in 2019.
Last year, El Paso saw 59 cases when Texas experienced its worst measles outbreak in nearly 30 years, according to the state health department’s data.
The West Texas measles outbreak spread to El Paso in April 2025 and also crossed into neighboring Ciudad Juárez. More than 750 cases were reported in Texas and more than 4,500 cases were reported in Chihuahua. Texas health authorities declared the state’s outbreak over in August 2025, while Mexican health authorities declared the country’s outbreak over in February of this year.
Young adults were among the most affected in the previous local outbreak, and the current cases also involve people in that age group. Residents with unknown vaccination history are encouraged to receive a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which provides about 97% protection after two doses.
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