(Reuters) – The Texas health department reported 717 cases of measles in the state on Tuesday, an increase of eight cases since its last update, as the U.S. battles one of the worst outbreaks of the childhood disease in the country.
Cases in Gaines County, the epicenter of the outbreak, rose to 405 from 403 since the last update, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The number of cases in Texas, which is currently the epicenter of the measles outbreak, has seen the lowest three-day increase, with cases rising by seven and eight over Friday and Tuesday, respectively.
Federal data showed that the number of measles cases in the country exceeded 1,000 for the first time in five years.
Researchers warned that the country is at a tipping point for the return of endemic measles, a quarter century after the disease was declared eradicated in the country.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Tasim Zahid)
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