(Reuters) -The Texas health department on Friday reported 738 cases of measles in the state, up by nine additional cases since its last update on Tuesday.
The U.S. is battling one of the worst outbreaks of measles it has seen, with over 1,000 cases reported for the first time in five years and three confirmed deaths.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,088 confirmed cases in 33 jurisdictions as of May 29.
Experts have urged public health officials to provide urgent endorsement for highly effective vaccines for measles.
The spread of the contagious airborne infection, however, has shown signs of slowing down over the past two weeks.
The number of infections in Gaines County, the epicenter of the outbreak in Texas, recorded one more case since the last update, bringing the total to 409 cases, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.
Cases reported by New Mexico’s health department remained unchanged at 79 cases.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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