People in US opting for unproven measles treatments, in line with health chief's advice

Struggling to contain a raging measles epidemic in West Texas, public health officials increasingly worry that residents are relying on unproven remedies endorsed by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and postponing doctor's visits until the illness has worsened.

- Teddy Rosenbluth

WASHINGTON - Struggling to contain a raging measles epidemic in West Texas, public health officials increasingly worry that residents are relying on unproven remedies endorsed by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and postponing doctor's visits until the illness has worsened.

Hospitals and officials sounded an alarm this past week, issuing a notice explaining which measles symptoms warranted immediate medical attention and stressing the importance of timely treatment.

"I'm worried we have kids and parents that are taking all of these other medications and then delaying care," said Ms. Katherine Wells, director of public health in Lubbock, Texas, where many of the sickest children in this outbreak have been hospitalized.

Some seriously ill children had been given alternative remedies such as cod liver oil, she added.

"If they're so, so sick and have low oxygen levels, they should have been in the hospital a day or two earlier," she said.

The growing outbreak has spread to nearly 260 people in Texas. So far, 34 patients have been hospitalized, and one child has died. In neighboring New Mexico counties, the virus has sickened 35 and hospitalized two. Two cases in Oklahoma have also been linked to the outbreak.

Texas health officials believe the true number of cases is far higher. In all, there have been 301 measles cases in the United States in 2025, the highest number since 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on March 14.